The Legendary Cupcake, Critical Role C2 E93 Animatic

The moment Jester became a legendary trickster.
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[@TheIrishTea]

I like to think that the Hag eventually realised what Jester did, and was just like... "Clever girl..!" and proceeds to enjoy the memory since she still has a friend and an infinite supply of cupcakes

[@Direwolf181]

Hustlers gotta respect the hustle she got beat at her own game

[@j.bat.8235]

During the campaign wrap up they kinda discussed exactly that.

[@chrisf84]

I'm also of the mind that the shame of being duped caused enough suffering in the Hag her need was satisfied

[@FiveTiger]

Surely Matt of all people knows not to accept gifts from Fae creatures, but Laura is just that good

[@vincentcyr3719]

Hags are fey creatures, right? Getting played at their own game, following the letter of the bargain while twisting the spirit to the breaking point, is something they respect.

[@Blasted2Oblivion]

She gave the hag a happy memory and a friend that supplies her with cupcakes. That truly is something precious.

[@vladimirlestrad3120]

None of us deserve Jester.

[@Lucky13Ravens]

If I was the Hag, I would be after Jester's firstborn. Hag's do funny things when someone impresses them.

[@crabofchaos8490]

At the very least the hag now has a cannon weakness to cupcake 😆

[@Silver_light77]

@@Lucky13Ravens i thought it would have been something along those lines, with someone close to jester being taken, like "taking your companionship as the trade," meant taking one of jester's companions. as much joy as her art brings, technically companionship is also something jester holds very dear, so i could see the hag making an implicit agreement of taking jester's companionship, which, because of jester being so disarming (alongside the modify memory), the hag didn't consider friendship is one of the things that you can give someone without losing any yourself.

[@theblueflame2221]

That's how you recognize a master manipulator. The type that tricks you while you're thankful for it.

[@Limxuv]

the look of terror on jester's face as she's trying to get the squad out of there as quickly as possible before Isharnai changes her mind is perfect

[@melancam]

don!t pronounce her name!!! I believe she has the power to scry upon you when you do.. like a deity would or some minor demi-gods would!!

[@aneggwithissues8925]

I'm still scared because Isharnai is an anagram of I, Raishan and she's gonna kill them all

[@Ryquard1]

@@aneggwithissues8925 oh no

[@resdamalos]

@@aneggwithissues8925 oh god

[@Arkatox]

An Egg With Issues Raishan is very certainly dead. If she were alive, she would not be spending her time in the form of a hag.

[@bdletoast09]

This is peak trickster cleric. A silly tiefling girl that screws a hag by giving her a good time? Jester Lavorre is a goddess.

[@VegetaLF7]

Molly would be proud, this entire scenario would have been right up his alley. Jester gave that Hag a pleasant memory and a friendship that includes getting delicious cupcakes. Like Molly used to do, she left the place a little better than she found it.

[@zorod5475]

VegetaLF7 now your making me cry. Molly was an amazing character.

[@unwithering5313]

Basically a Divine Trickster (actually that would be a pretty cool subclass)

[@KaleidosXXI]

@@unwithering5313 That's literally what the Trickery Domain for Clerics is supposed to be, which is the subclass Jester uses.

[@thelivingghost5695]

Uhhhhh Phrasing!?

[@ellenbrooks8061]

"I gave her something very precious let's get the fuck out of here" This has me in stitches 🤣

[@thesaltycat9493]

Oh, I love how when you rewatch this you can just HEAR Jester baiting the hag: "Oh man, it'll really suck to not have any hands.", "Oh, I'd be so sad!", etc!

[@elbruces]

Never once did she actually offer her hands.

[@willowjohnson8553]

@@elbruces she did tho, at the very beginning

[@DwiteLoot]

@@elbruces this is a condensed version of a considerably longer encounter. Jester did offer her literal hand before this.

[@JubioHDX]

@@willowjohnson8553 well, she offered 1 hand technically, but i guess both was crossing the line lol

[@LocalMaple]

@@JubioHDX The Hag thrives off the suffering of others. So if Jester was willing to give one, she wouldn’t suffer. Taking both crossed a line for Jester, because it was a deal where the Hag could only benefit by crossing. But as a Trickster Cleric who was prepared for such deals, Jester set the pace of the entire conversation. She made an offer with a predictable counteroffer, reemphasized the potential counteroffer with other things that require hands, sweetened that deal with her reaction when the counteroffer was spoken, then offered a perceived surrender through the cupcake. The Hag couldn’t resist the cupcake under those conditions, and that was when Jester sprung the trap.

[@Kari-tu3fs]

The moral of this story _Never trust the trickster cleric_

I think the Hag let the whole thing slide because she was amused by the whole ordeal.

[@matthewbrandt5053]

@ I agree. Hags love deciet and trickery so no doubt it DID enjoy the company of a fellow trickster.

[@khadijahdanielian3918]

Naaaah I think it’s more like, never UNDERESTIMATE the trickster cleric!

[@matthewbrandt5053]

@@khadijahdanielian3918 never undersestimate a cleric you mean.

[@khadijahdanielian3918]

@@matthewbrandt5053 truth

[@TheBlarggle]

Jester delivered on the promise of sending her more cupcakes too.

[@VegetaLF7]

Probably my favorite part of the whole thing (epic trickster move aside). She upheld her end of the arrangement too and sends different cupcakes for her to try out long after they escaped. I can honestly see Jester and the Hag being pen pals years later and arranging to send her new and even more delicious snacks on occasion, telling her all about their adventures and the wild and unusual pastries she comes across around the world. Jester didn't just defeat the hag, she befriended her.

[@JKSSubstandard]

@@VegetaLF7 and then nearly did it again with the dragon turtle. Jester is a MF force for breaking matts plans right now

[@robertcapostagno2082]

@@JKSSubstandard So excited to see where traveler-con takes us. Also, lets give a hand to Laura. She went from playing a simple character type, the greedy sister who liked to bang the rich guy, and created Jester. DAMN has she grown as a player. They all have, which has been one of my favourite things to watch over all these years. So much development as players, and as friends around the table. But Jester Lavorre, she is a masterpiece. Also really want to point out Marisha's Beau. Kelith amplified the loud, annoying, awkward, and obnoxious. Also, super complex as a druid with spells, and it seemed to be just too much information for her to process. But she used Beau to play those off as character weaknesses, from a character I had a really REALLY hard time listening to into one that has me splitting my sides because she does it amazingly well, and now instead of trying to go through so much information as a player, she uses her character to literally knock information out of people xD. Its no attempted bash at Marisha, Kelith was just too much for me to handle. But with watching how she plays Beau, I have a newfound respect for her as a player. Makes me happy to see them jive better now that ever before.

[@RoraighPrice]

@@VegetaLF7 I'm still convinced that the hag ate the courier jester used to send the cupcakes.

[@Blasted2Oblivion]

@@RoraighPrice So Jester is REALLY nice to the hag. Sending her meats to go with the desserts.

[@malkavian2]

Jester is the real god, the traveller just follows and takes notes

[@ForeverDegenerate]

I believe Artagan said as much when he revealed himself to Jester. ;p

[@Halfwithero314]

I actually think this would be an amazing narrative conclusion to jesters arc where she takes over and becomes the Traveler for Exandria

[@ForeverDegenerate]

@@Halfwithero314 Lord knows Artagan doesn't really want the job.

[@Reoh0z]

Jester is the god of Chaos & Cupcakes.

[@JanTuts]

Funnily enough, that's pretty much canon :D

[@JustynHill-Hand]

My favorite part pf this whole encounter happened out of game. Laura: "Did she fail her save?" Matt: ".....yes."

[@martophrenia]

“ts…yep”

[@penileshenanigans2613]

"did I succeed" "... yep"

[@philliptivis3082]

I think Mercer talked about this, but you can see it on his face: he is pissed...and he is proud.

[@LocalMaple]

“yyYe-pop.”

[@9itsjustme2]

​@@philliptivis3082 I remember him saying that there should have been a few rolls. Like deception checks and such.

[@ferwolf8076]

I screamed when Jester pulled this off. "Legendary Cupcake" is a very accurate title

[@user-ut5nx6hm9d]

When I got to that part of this animation I was immediately hit with the same chills I get when a character in Jojo's bizarre adventure turns a battle around in some unexpected way. It was great.

[@dirtydonovan1073]

Nihilistic Brat i was there too man, twitch chat was going absolutely insane

[@chazzwozzio]

Oh me too this was an MVP play right here

[@zorod5475]

I was there as well! If you watch Talison he and I had the same reaction.

[@sevuvidramus1717]

Me too😁

[@zhenshei9398]

I love how its not only a genius idea, but it plays on the tropes of traditional hags and flips it on its head completely. Like the story of snow white, the hag approaches Snow White with the apple, and offers her the poison half. This is that, but reversed. It is utterly perfect!

[@bdletoast09]

That's what amazes me the most about this. Like, this is freaking improv, and yet this is thematically so fitting? Tricking a hag with a pastry? As Taliesin puts it after this, she Hanseled her Gretel.

[@Curtis006]

This is some modern-day folklore shit

[@alanyamamura]

I love how everyone was prepared to beat the shit out of Isharnai as soon as Jester exited the hut. Such a nice detail.

[@Starhartdeer]

I like to think that they were just really concerned that she was taking so long, like the players irl, but both can be true can't they

[@TaggedByTim]

Caleb having a fire ball half ready to cast is my favorite part about that.

[@charliefey8974]

The way Beau is ready to just overhead smash with her staff is great

[@khadijahdanielian3918]

Even Cadeauces was ready to throw hands!

[@DeathnoteBB]

John k. I think the players thought Laura was just stalling, and didn’t want the stalling to go on forever.

[@DarthPoyner]

What gets me is that they keep asking her questions afterwards. Jester has rarely ever been insistent and fully confident about anything. So when she calmly and firmly says, "We need to get the fuck out of here.", you stop asking questions and move.

[@josephatthecoop]

Yeah, when Jester herself tells you to shut up and move, it’s time to shut up and move! It’s sort of like when your sweet old grandma swears - you know she’s serious. In truth this is an established trait of this party, and it drives me up the wall. That’s not a complaint, because the actors are totally being in character. But OMG can they dither when prompt action is called for. People have died because of their endless self-centered bickering, and if there’s one thing I could fault Matt for it’s not giving the characters even more consequences for the dithering sometimes. One of my favorite things about Shakäste in E7 was his ability to get them moving. “Hush” didn’t just apply to the NPCs! I’m only up to E15 so maybe the characters get better about it, but this most excellent spoiler from E93 makes me doubt it!

[@lizzyobrien2376]

When the trickster cleric tells you to move, you don’t ask where to or for how long. You ask how fast.

[@thatonedude675]

@@josephatthecoop it’s fun reading this after episode 101 where they spend five minutes asking a character in various ways if their memory was wiped after it was pretty clear by the first question that their memory was wiped.

[@timwoods2852]

"We should not linger here!"

[@aniano39]

Honestly. The way she just drops that line so nonchalantly is perfect, hushed but firm in a way that would have shut me up immediately

[@presentlycrescent]

the moment that everyone realized Jester is on par with Talesin in the eldritch pantheon

[@Hearty1100]

The Great Old One of Joy, Tricks, and Dick Drawing.

[@Suralin0]

Don't you mean *ältritch* pantheon?

[@Brillitjies]

Laura is a dangerous person. Like a really fucking scary dangerous person

[@FoxHound-ut1hu]

Don't fuck with the fey

[@whistlerdan7718]

well she did create a god soooo...

[@Tangent_Pixel]

93 episodes of Jester’s naive innocence is really what makes this one scene so freaking epic. She’s definitely had her moments, but she’s got such an innocent air about her that when she does stuff like this it catches me off guard.

[@decimation9780]

Ludinus put it rather succinctly, where her personality and seeming naïveté is unnervingly disarming, and it’s not even assisted by magic! It’s just how she do!

[@AlexQuill63]

When you watch the actual episode of this with the Twitch feed, there is ONE single person, ONE in the Twitch chat amidst an endless rain of horrified players who remembered that Jester is a Trickster Cleric and tried to remind people. And it's a testament to how well Laura plays Jester that only one person in the entire comments section on that stream remembered that fact. Jester is such a sunshine child that it took me looking at her page on the Critical Role wiki before I discovered that she's Chaotic Neutral, I had her pegged for being Neutral Good at worst with occasional flashes of Chaotic Good (usually when Nott is involved i.e. the Fluffernutter Incident).

[@nuisancekat-8619]

And yet the air of innocence remains, like she just convinces the hag that they became friends??

[@bdletoast09]

@@nuisancekat-8619 That's what is so incredible about this character, the dichotomy between who she is and what she can do is enormous. Her personnality isn't a trick. She really is a bubbly, naive and innocent young girl... but at the same time, she's also a cunning, ruthless and wise woman. Her sweet nature is not a front she puts to deceive people, it's who she really is, but that doesn't mean she can't use it as a weapon when she wants to and you have to be very careful to not underestimate her because she's a freaking beast. Look at her stat total, they're huge. And speaking in-universe, she is born from a tiefling and a genasi, was taught magic by an archfey who she elevated as a minor deity through sheer faith alone. Devil, elemental, fey and divine, that's four different kind of magic under her belt.

[@kida4313]

dub dee dub dee dooo ... donuts!

[@samuelbadger4567]

I love how sinister you make the hag feel. The animation really shows how calculated and predatory the they are.

[@TimOvideos]

The glowing soulless white eyes were such a fantastic touch too.

[@joshhaworth2155]

What's "the they are" supposed to mean? Did you add an extra word? Is there a second hag (pretty sure the hag is a she, not a they), or is my brain just not working?

[@samuelbadger4567]

@@joshhaworth2155 It's just a typo, I wanted to refer to the hag as "they" for simplicity

[@joshhaworth2155]

@@samuelbadger4567 Ah, never mind

[@decimation9780]

@@samuelbadger4567 Or it makes it more terrifying because of the implication of there being multiple hags, on the same level of Isharnai all across Exandria.

[@zaelheimricht4978]

She did gave her something precious: A good memory.

[@Deactivatedsorry]

Awww 🥺

[@stevenjacobs8797]

This was the moment the Traveler realized he was an amateur and began to worship the true Trickster God of Exandria.

[@kkTeaz]

*clappity clap of clap*

[@JKSSubstandard]

I mean, based on last nights conversation between Jester and the traveler....this is heavily implied to be the case

[@angryowl72]

You mean goddess

[@dagoelius]

Or there is no Traveler.. only a shapeshifting duplicate of Jester's split personality. Matt (who is in on the deception) is the voice of her Psychic manifestation.

[@lumikkiharthri6658]

That. . . . Makes sense actually

[@chrissimcock8943]

Honestly, after this stunt DnD beyond should make the dust of deliciousness an official item and rename it Jester's Dust of Deceit.

[@davidens8204]

yes I totally agree .. pretty awesome

[@thatoneguywiththeextremely8182]

The dust of deliciousness is now an official item. Rejoice

[@danieloceansmith3156]

Chris Simcock more like jesters fantastic flavoring Makes anything you add it to 10 times as delicious (sweet things are the perfect level of sweet, spicy things are extremely spicy but without the afterburn, and adds the best flavoring to perfectly compliment any food to your tastebuds), to the point you cant think about anything but how tasty the food you ate is. provides disadvantage for wisdom rolls.... That sounds like a trademark crit role item

[@robertcapostagno2082]

@@danieloceansmith3156 I do like it too because for an un-role'd person it still sounds great. A jesters fantastic flavouring.

[@Gala-yp8nx]

It was sugar sprinkles laced with LSD.

[@nerdygirl1018]

The frame when she says "I'm going to cast modify memory" IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORTIE IT'S SO PRETTY

[@sagescribe_]

Same vibes as "You are already dead"

[@seniorfloyd]

It's actually my PC wallpaper now!

[@SentientHoodii]

*Giorno theme plays*

[@tabchanzero8229]

*NANI?!*

[@tomaslaborde6047]

@@SentientHoodii literally a Jojo reference

[@darylchambers9138]

What's even more beautiful about this moment is that Jester not only fooled the hag, but Matt Mercer himself! Fantastic example of how to DM a brilliant moment.

[@jetvulcan2020]

I love this scene, this is on the level of classic trickster like Loki, Anansi, Brer Rabbit, Puss in Boots, Bugs Bunny, start in a position of weakness gives the target what they want then offer them something more. once the target takes the bate the trickster pulls the rug out from under them the target is left wondering what the just happened.

[@zepaduse97]

The traveler is so proud of her

[@thevoidcritter]

I mean she *is* the cleric to a god of trickery, so like

[@bdletoast09]

@@zepaduse97 it's beyond pride. Artagan was so impressed by what she pulled off here that he actually came seeking for her wisdom. That moment when you're such a good trickster that a god of mischief actually comes to ask advice from you.

[@walteringle2258]

Don't forget Raven, Hermes/Mercury (or a young Apollo), Enki, or The Monkey King. And arguements could be made for Lucifer as well. :)

[@jetvulcan2020]

@@bdletoast09 when you actually think about it the Traveler is a creation of Artagan and Jester.

[@sylph4252]

At 4:30 you can literally sense from Matt's voice that he is wondering what kind of bullshit is about to happen and is willing to let it work

[@johnermactavish1162]

Matt: Wait…. Let her cook

[@parsashirali8957]

​@@johnermactavish1162 matt after seeing what she did:this shit tastes FIRE

[@mr.e7541]

If I remember right though it was cut out there was a role to see if persuasiveness would work or not

[@masonzale9780]

The hag is giving me coralline vibes and it is incredible

[@MercuryCat]

Yeah, definitely like the Other Mother for sure

[@nightflash4782]

reminds me of the gman from half life

[@nickdahl203]

Sounds like Mark Hamill.

[@SomeFreakingCactus]

Coraline plus Gorillaz.

[@epsilon1372]

@@nickdahl203 what if Mercer is actually Hamill in disguise?!

[@brocklun1]

This is even better now that we know the traveller was right next to Jester this entire encounter probably trying not to laugh

[@fireballedbard4620]

He’s taking notes

[@Landis963]

I thought the Traveler was running around in a panic trying to set things up for TravelerCon, so it's likely that he only noticed when Jester cast Modify Memory. He would be privy to the details of the spell, especially the content of the false memory. And that was enough to make him think that she could help him.

[@ShurikenSean]

the moment Jester became a true Fey, enchanted food straight from their playbook. even better hags used to be fey before they were corrupted no wonder The Traveler revealed himself the next episode

[@darksev.6468]

Hags ARE Fey. They're evil Fey, much like redcaps and yeth hounds are, but Fey nonetheless.

[@draochvar9646]

@@darksev.6468 yup. They are amongst the most reviled creatures of the feywild. Pretty much all of the Faere (Artagans people) hold them in utter contempt but they are fey nonetheless. (With the exception of the Nighthags of course)

[@darksev.6468]

@@draochvar9646 also Dusk Hags but idk if those exist outside of Eberron.

[@finnianquail8881]

@@darksev.6468 no

[@spensirmclife6549]

@@finnianquail8881 Yes but anything can exist in a homebrew world of your Imagination!

[@TragerM]

I love how you can hear in the background the other players just losing their fucking minds not believing what is happening but loving the hell out of it watching it unfold.

[@wizrad2099]

This was possibly my favorite scene of the entire show. Both campaigns. This was just absolutely perfectly in character and well played down to the dialogue that even distracted Matt from guessing what she might be doing. If he'd known what was coming there might have been a deception check or something, but she played it off perfectly.

[@pierluigidipietro5597]

She still had to persuade the hag to eat the cupcake. This successful roll, and the subsequent failed resistance roll (stright roll, because the hag had advantage, cancelled out by the powder of deliciousness) made it happen. A perfect combo of mastery and luck.

[@mrbonanza2606]

This and the bathtub scene from c1 are my favorites.

[@pyrosianheir]

The only scenes that come close to this one for C2 are the one where they fight Avantika while Beau scampers off to get the Plank King (especially the Wall of Fire that started it), and Caleb pulling out the Dodeca to keep the Bright Queen from killing the whole party.

[@xombiekat13]

Jester is such a gift that I actually find it hard to enjoy relistening to C1 as much because that energy isn't there. Still love Vox Machina but Laura Bailey struck gold with this character.

[@annebeach6630]

@@mrbonanza2606 yes the bathtub scene was so good. You can see the exact moment Laura thinks of it all over her face and Liam's disgust coupled with Travis jumping up and dancing... Magical moment.

[@nintandrew13]

"Bitch had like... four elbows!" This is one of my favorite scenes from the entire campaign. Really fun to see it animated here, thank you for posting!

[@135mikerules23]

The animation style on this is stellar and sublime in capturing the perspective of both sides of the exchange. It also really captures the essence of what an especially long living, intelligent, and powerful hag can look like. Even though I’m pretty sure Jesters trick against Isharnai will ultimately come back to bite her in the ass sometime in the future, this was without a doubt one of if not the most powerful moment in the entire Campaign. During that moment I literally laughed and screamed out loud simultaneously, “AFTER ALL THAT?!”

[@Starhartdeer]

Yes!! And i feel like this is definitely a post main-campaign knot to untangle c:

[@geminielemental8800]

This is indeed such a great art style for this scene!

[@TheKazragore]

Whether Isharni comes for them could depend on a number of factors. Remember that Vax made a bargain with a Hag early in their campaign (pre-stream) and Matt explained that it got to the point where she no longer felt it was worth trying to collect on someone that powerful. If the party stays out of her crosshairs long enough they could well get to the same point where it's more trouble than it's worth for the Hag to act on it. Especially if nothing gives her a reason to go back and question it.

[@melancam]

@@TheKazragore but you gotta love the way she sent an inter-planer delivery being, to isharnai, to give her some cup cakes and you never heard of this poor thing again!!

[@tntdragon1000]

@@melancam I always assumed once the delivery was done it just disappeared.

[@RowanB6]

I love this so much, because despite the fact that we KNOW SHE IS A TRICKSTER CLERIC, all of her tricks of this caliber still manage to come out of left field. The mark of a brilliant trickster. And the fact that she let it dawn on everyone as it happened, slowly but surely. Just a masterclass in storytelling and characterization.

[@featherflame1962]

Oh my god I forgot how TERRIFYING Jester can be. Or any magic user, for that matter.

[@shadowfiresword]

magic might be a bit less long lasting than applying sword to face, but goddamn if it can't pull off some game changers on occasion.

[@riccardoconti6682]

@@shadowfiresword Yup, I agree completely 💪

[@VulpisFoxfire]

What makes it terrifying is never expecting her to be so *devious* with it.

[@TaggedByTim]

Let's not forget that she's mentioned it a few times and the only time she's used it is right here.

[@Titoichi1986]

Any magic user from level 8 and beyond is ridiculously powerful

[@MoMoOBrien]

Absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for your hard work

[@reberarts771]

My pleasure!

[@sonechkotopenumbra]

Momo O’Brien?! You watch critical role?!

[@ihavenoideawhatiamdoingdea4316]

MO MO!???

[@stefanandrews5098]

Am I allowed to create a Warlock patron of “Laura Bailey”? Absolute galaxy brain maneuver.

[@reyntime8735]

Nah Laura is her own pantheon

[@spiritscoffee6199]

Great old one

[@Valsorayu]

@@spiritscoffee6199 Defo Archfey with that level of manipulation

[@danielstephens1185]

Hell, Cthulhu probably watched this and took notes! "Why did I never think of this?!"

[@reuniclus9]

Ur patron: HAGGLE THAT PRICE DOWN! HAGGLE THE-NO-THAT POTION SHOULD NOT COST THAT MUCH-HAGGLE

[@MazzaAzi]

Jester:"-It also gives you dis advantage on wisdom checks and saving throws..." everyone watching, playing, and DMing: "DEAR GOD." Jester:"... and I'm going to cast modify memory." everyone watching, playing, and DMing: " *NO.* "

[@Odisher7]

Jester: this is a cupcake People: Dear god Jester: There's more People: No...

[@kuze1930]

This is a bucket

[@narmale]

@@kuze1930 I HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT TELEPORT BREAD FOR THREE DAYS!!!!

[@kuze1930]

@@narmale DEAR GOD

[@narmale]

@@kuze1930 seduce me!

[@marytreaty9357]

When jester says "i know, you know what she ended up being a really nice lady." Laura's Tohru Honda voice came out

[@lyn3325]

Huh?! I knew I recognized that somehow!

[@marytreaty9357]

@@lyn3325 it just totally brought me back to my childhood

[@DeathnoteBB]

Ohhh my god I had the anime but mostly just read the manga

[@m.orionyt]

wait WHAT?

[@marytreaty9357]

@@m.orionyt yeah

[@tacboy78ify]

"I gave her something very precious, let's get the fuck out of here" hahaha this video is perfect!! You're art style is amazing!

[@telefeeb1]

Bonus trickster points for Not Technically Lying when she said “I gave her something very precious” Gave her memories of a pleasant evening and a delicious cupcake. Priceless.

[@wendelyn912]

This was very thoroughly planned out. The imagery of Jester as she's casting modify memory is brilliant. Her cute bubbly personality juxtaposed with that intimidating stare and glowing eyes -- genius! Amazing job.

[@ChrisHendricks]

My favorite frame might actually be 8:12... her eyes perfectly show that mixture of excitement at having gotten away with a huge scam, but also fear that it still might fail at any moment.

[@wizardlizard4496]

The amount of details in this huge, I can't Imagine the amount of work it took. I especially liked the mouth movement, altough everything else was precise too. Truly a mystical take on such a magnificent moment.

[@benkayvfalsifier3817]

I agree with you. The amount of work that was put into this is so intricate and detailed, especially the characters, yet so simple using short one motion movements, except for the mouths, of course, it creates a unique style of animation, I LOVE IT.

[@ForeverDegenerate]

@@benkayvfalsifier3817 It's not really a unique style of animation. In fact, it's not animation at all. It's called an Animatic (hence the title of the video). It's a preliminary form of animation whereby storyboards are taken and filmed in sequence. That's why the animation is almost stop-motion. It's literally a series of images being filmed. Think of it as filming someone flipping through a flipbook. Filmmakers and TV Show Makers use this tool to get an idea for what their ideas look like in motion so they have an idea of how to shoot it in real time when they get on set and behind the camera. These are also often used as a presentation to the studios when projects are pitched to them. That being said, this was VERY impressive. The level of detail is astounding. The quality of the characters is incredible. I would LOVE to see this cleaned up and polished as a complete animation. @Reber Arts has some amazing talent!

[@benkayvfalsifier3817]

@@ForeverDegenerate Learn something new every day. Yes, it would be cool if it was fully animated, but the way it is now has a unique charm of its own.

[@j-dawg4774]

You can see Matt's soul leave his body once he realizes how badly he's been hood winked

[@linootte]

An... eight minute.... animatic? ARE YOU CRAZY? This is really really good. I loved your storyboard, the shots... Especially the one with Jester "between" the hag hands, and the low-angle shot were she is considering giving her hands away, at 3:42. Your lighting is also really adding to the tension of the scene. That must have taken so many hours... I'm super thankful you shared it with us.^^

[@theGhoulman]

I am guessing it's this long because LIVE, on Twitter, the whole thing was about 25 minutes?

[@ForeverDegenerate]

@Linotte Yeah, the framing of some of the shots were brilliant. Makes me wonder if @Rebel Arts is a filmmaker in addition to being a storyboard artist.

[@jawly_]

@@theGhoulman wait it was only 25 minutes!? Something like this would usually be about a couple weeks or at least a month! I mean the animation wasnt very fluid so that helped but it would normally take me about 5 minutesto draw each panel, not accounting for constant erasing

[@gierrah]

@@jawly_ He means 25 minutes is what the scene took for the Critical Role gameplay, with this animatic cutting out a lot of meta that what was said in the scene. A lot of pauses, outside game chatter, ect removed. I'm sure animating this took so much longer.

[@caseywhite8969]

ITS SOO GOOD

[@Thagesthoughts]

Ladies and gentlemen, the perfect example of how Chaotic Good gets shit done.

[@Mastahsword126]

5:53 "I know right, everybody needs that" followed by the giggle... Laura is scary sometimes.

[@bbittercoffee]

Sometimes?! She's scary all the time but we don't notice because of how giggly and cute she is, and that same cuteness consumes us and blinds even powerful beings such as hags to her real intents, I feel like watching back from episode 1 just to have a different perspective on her actions.

[@walfman100]

@@bbittercoffee I kinda hope that someone seriously hurts jester or someone close to her, so she has a genuine desire to hurt somebody. Like capture and slowing killing someone with inflict woulds then bring them back with revivify just to do it again kinda hurt somebody. Because I can totally see jester losing it and wanting to make someone suffer.

[@lyn3325]

@@walfman100 Well she was kidnapped for the slave industry, but that didn't change her much.. at least we can say that she genuinely wanted to hurt the guy that was bothering her mom. She was down and okay with him losing his hands to Fjord. That's got to mean something towards her morality. He didn't even deserve it much. For other cases I feel like it just happened that the ones she wanted to hurt were evil and killed off by the team.

[@walfman100]

@@lyn3325 she wasn't really around when she was kidnapped, she didn't come back to the story untill after everything was delt with. Also she has become significantly less naive, combined with her disillusionment with the Traveler, I could see her proper psych. Especially if someone like Trent was to kidnap her mother to try and pressure the Mighty Nien. But I doubt Matt would do that, even though he has expressed that he wanted to have a more politically focused campaign.

[@michelveilleux1275]

The Hags chuckles are on point. Old, powerful creature that lives in the swamp vibes be like

[@fredrikrydberg473]

Thank you for giving the Hag Mercers body language, Love the resting of the chin on the hands just like Mercer played it :D

[@AksentNethariaFilm]

I love that the animation for her Modify Memory was reminiscent of the Men In Black memory wipe graphic

[@OttersDen]

That entire sequence after the door shuts behind Jester is particularly masterful. You captured Jester PERFECTLY there.

[@ThienTran-fo7ly]

right now, there's 1 dislike on this vid. isharnai: i'm in this video and i don't like it

[@pooldude888]

"How do you delete something on the internet?"

[@RedrumZombies]

​@@pooldude888 "I want another Cupcake!"

[@CemDincarslan]

Now there's 8, Isharnal have some friends it seems.

[@alecLogan]

Cem Dinçarslan “You fool! I have 73 alternative accounts!”

[@katd8502]

I still remember the look on Mercer's face when she pulled this off. 🤣🤣🤣

[@VegetaLF7]

The beats of "okay...wait..what?" were great. He blue screened as he tried figuring out what Laura's game was and when it clicked he just had this look of sudden realization at the master level deception she was pulling.

[@imkabochan]

Jester chose the pacifist route. Every game should have one, super difficult, chaotic, peaceful route. Edited to correct pacific to pacifist lmao

[@Halbam]

Also the pacifistic route. But sure, sailing is nice!

[@imkabochan]

@@Halbam thanks, not an english speaker here and I fumble with words sometimes

[@JKSSubstandard]

I mean, I dont think I can play with a DM who wont let me try crazy edge of reality BS to break the game. DnD is a game about thinking outside the box and its best moments are when players actually pull something this special out their ass. Trick the hag with a cupcake and modify memory. Or examples from me, Use forge clerics ability to turn the bottom of a ship we need sunk into a tasteful dining room set. Polymorph the evil wizard and throw him into the bag of devouring to cheat a hard fight.

[@great-wall-of-nowhere9377]

@@Halbam TAKE ME ON A JOURNEY, HAG

[@redmonsoon8228]

I had a campaign where one of the big villains was a fallen Angel driven insane by horrific trauma millennia ago, and instead of killing her, the party hunted down the goddess of time, convinced her to let them travel back, and REWROTE HISTORY so they could have an Angel friend.

[@lukaslukas8083]

I’d like to imagine after Jester leaves the spell breaks and then the hag slams her hands on her desk and just yells, “DAMMIT”

[@rimurutempest4945]

If Jester ever did lose her hands, the goblin who didn’t have hands could teach Jester to do everything with her feet. Could have been interesting to see her painting using her feet.

[@CaseyWinehouse]

I definitely thought someone was going to mention it. Matt almost did by mentioning people figure it out all the time or something like that but that seemed more like Papa Matt being like “Hey, don’t be ableist.”

[@Kalenz1234]

She can just regrow her hands with healing spells.

[@rimurutempest4945]

@@Kalenz1234 She can’t, she even asked it and it’s implied that she won’t even be able to use prosthetics since it’s a hag’s bargain, those kinda things are sort of set in stone.

[@Kalenz1234]

@@rimurutempest4945 You said if jester ever lost her hands. You didn't specify if she lost her hands with an entity which would prevent her from regrowing them.

[@rimurutempest4945]

@@Kalenz1234 because that’s literally part of the context for this video so I didn’t really feel the need to specify.

[@neilbadger4262]

In campaign 1, Sam had many great moments that you only realise when you watch it again. But for campaign 2, Laura shows so clearly how she can be on the same level. Beautifully done.

[@TiliaCordata]

A-MAZING. Your hag is terrifying, your Jester is the cutest, it's so detailed!

[@asdfg2560]

TiliaCordata the contrast is just so good

[@bankruptedwizard1413]

This is why Jester is my favorite character in Critical Role. More than deserving of the title of "Legendary Trickster".

[@carlitotrevan7037]

Using the power of friendship nott's curse has been broken.

[@Gcrow_well]

The drawing goes crazy! Like to the artist(s)… thats amazing.

[@anjalim.3688]

This is absolute perfection!! Loved the moment where Jess slipped her hands behind her back to sprinkle the dust. Super well done!

[@RyeBreadFF]

the way you draw the hag looming over the frame, even in her laughter, is so well-done. Massive props.

[@constantlycomic1290]

This is amazing! I especially loved the way you drew Isharnai, the way she towers over even Yasha and that close-up of her mouth when Jester is proposing giving up her hands is just delightfully chilling.

[@sleeplessgames1677]

7:48 _Whispering_ Let's get the f*ck out of here, go. *That is now in my top ten Jester moments.*

[@TheTsugnawmi2010]

"in the future you can Scry on us because, you know, I did it to you before..." *THE HAG WILL REMEMBER THAT!!* (Also I love the framing on this shot)

[@kenmann4074]

Isharni "Is there anything else I can help you with, something you've always wanted" Jester "just your company" I can see that phrasing coming back to visit later

[@draochvar9646]

@@kenmann4074 amongst other things. But I'd give good money to see Artagan and Isharnai duke it out in a display of highest-grade fey magic.

[@nekolalia3389]

@@kenmann4074…oh she is absoLUTEly attending Jester and Fjord’s wedding; technically, she was the first guest to be invited!

[@danielgallagher3608]

modify memory is basically just a jedi mind trick

[@thedoomofred5174]

I’ve seen a lot of animations of this scene and this is one of the best

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

I love the little changes in expression made just by changing the shape of the hag's eyes very slightly. Jester: I'm a pretty happy person. Hag (eyes narrow): I can see that.

[@vcagande7998]

Just when I thought I couldn’t love Jester and Laura Bailey any more...

[@taintedmyth0s636]

THAT PLAY. That was an amazing move and you animated all this so well. Jester's expression totally captures that "I have no idea how that worked but things could get very, very bad very, very quickly so let's leave before that happens" vibe lol

[@devinflores3997]

On-stream this moment had me mouth-agape for literally the entire exchange, pacing around the room, airpunching, the works. This shot-by-shot brought me back, even though I've got a splitting headache at the moment. Loved the detail and the style to each frame. It's stuff like this that's making the hiatus a lot more bearable--thank you for sharing your talent!

[@tiffany02020]

1:00 I love the way this is framed. Really clever and effective with the hands around her. Wow.

[@otterblau5253]

That "or something" after Jester mentions giving one of her hands. . .

[@bbittercoffee]

Even after watching it over and over again I still am taken by absolute awe How do you even plan this? This was such an unforeseable move that not even Matt predicted it. And Laura pulled it off. How?

[@FerunaLutelou]

Because Matt played along, like a good DM should. That and good rolls on her part.

[@chadnorris8257]

No hands means no spells with somatic components. As an artistic spellcaster, that would be very tragic.

[@tuseroni6085]

Although tashas cauldron brings the prosthesis magical item from the eberon campaign, so losing an arm or leg can be compensated for, with the loss of an atunement slot.

[@draochvar9646]

@@tuseroni6085 weeeeeell ... you see, Hag deals are not that easy to circumvent, as was seen with the curse that was put on Veth. It is very likely any sort of magical prosthetic would simply cease to function when used by Jester. A deal made with a hag is as binding as a contract with a devil and there is almost no worming yourself out of it.

[@tuseroni6085]

@@draochvar9646 veths curse didn't prevent her from disguising herself as a halfling. I suspect the prosthesis would still function.

[@mewmixify]

Two years later, I still LOVE this interpretation of the scene. Beautiful, macabre, and brilliant! Thank you.

[@XerKoro_neo]

"His name is the Traveller, he's a really powerful god" **Curb your Enthusiasm theme plays**

[@blackbirdfly0128]

I cannot overstate how much i ADORE the art style you went with here, especially on the hag. I think it captures the tone of the scene perfectly. Incredible job :)

[@pagenein]

”Does the door do the thing?” “..right” Matt is extraordinary but I love that you can hear on the tone that he totally forgot about the door lol This is so incredibly good and?? So long?? Are u ok?

[@lyn3325]

Especially since it made it seem like the hag was leaving the spell, brillant. Just that extra dose of fear.

[@thetgi4458]

That just totally adds to Jester besting the hag. Fooled her so hard that she forgot to even open the door. Phenomenal

[@greyscaleadaven]

It just goes to show how absolutely she deceived the hag and Mercer simultaneously. Getting caught up in awkward moments of conversation made their clash of personalities feel more real while establishing the idea that the hag felt comfortable enough to act aloof in front of her. Truly a trickster she is, and deserving of her name as the Jester of this group. That level of charming deception is really only equivalized by bards, and I think Jester outperformed any of them twofold with this little stunt. I'd actually like to see Laura play a bard or just a charisma based caster in general after seeing this level of bargaining come out of her.

[@DeathnoteBB]

Thetgi For real. It’s always amazing when a player’s con confuses the DM themself.

[@isaiahwelch8066]

My favorite reaction: "You fed a witch a baked good! HOW!?" ~ Taliesin Jaffe

[@finngardiner5358]

I think you captured the hag _really_ well, she was so creepy. Amazing work! :D

[@elbruces]

Hag: "you have friends who can feed you, right?" Me: flashes back to the Doom one-shot of Laura just yelling "MANCUBUUUS!" through the whole thing. And everybody else taking care of her big demon with guns for hands...

[@Nechrostriker4]

I'm half-expecting the hag to say "Ed...ward..."

[@jpumbaa1]

GO SIT IN THE CORNER AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID!

[@penguinkingification]

I don't get it

[@Nechrostriker4]

@@penguinkingification are you familiar with Full metal Alchemist? If not, go give Brotherhood a watch, it stays true to the Manga

[@jpumbaa1]

@@penguinkingification Believe me, you're better off not knowing. Stay innocent.

[@BBoyGsusfreak]

Too soon

[@Hearty1100]

Even when tricking someone, Jester still brings people joy

[@VegetaLF7]

She took Molly's lessons to heart. "Leave every place better than you found it"

[@invaderzam]

I love the almost comic book style art your style has. The shading really makes the color pop up.

[@MadamFoogie]

This is _one hundred percent_ my favorite Critical Role fan animation.

[@izzy4125]

Saw this episode for the first time last week and it is the best thing, you captured it perfectly

[@VelcroGirlOfficial]

I miss Thursdays. Thank you for easing the waiting with this incredible work!!

[@corvusdove874]

I love this animation style for this moment..... I was holding a drink when Jester popped that cupcake out, not knowing what was coming. Seconds later I was sans drink and after the shock and the cheering i was cleaning it up off the floor.

[@TakeWalker]

Reliving the whole scene this way is such a treat. :D

[@TheBlarggle]

Well done. This was the exact moment that got me into Critical Role. I had no idea what it was before but I saw "#Jester" and "#CriticalRole" both trending and on a whim I clicked the Jester tag and saw this moment(the livestream moment) everyone was going crazy for it and so I went and watched it from the start.

[@AlGhostZX]

WOW I just watch this scene for the first time a few hours ago, still got the shivers, Jester downright neuralized the hag

[@billyburns7886]

This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost took the hands of Cleric Jester Lavorre.

[@Taygon45]

We need to rotoscope Laura's "We gotta go" gesture over Jester.

[@eltar91]

I know this will be fully animated someday is the best

[@resdamalos]

Your art style really sells both the creepy and hilarious moments of this scene... Absolutely amazing!

[@RhysGFrelsa-Eudyptula]

The fact it worked is what makes it the best ever. The rolls that were involved were just edge of your seat anticipation. The animation is awesome. Great work. ^.^

[@sordcooper2]

this is, as near perfect a rendition of that scene as you can get, the expressions, the body language all match up so damned well with the dialogue

[@joshuaeasytosearchrhodes963]

This was an absolutely legendary moment. Your use of shadows is amazing. And, though low framerate, the change in the hag's eye shape really expresses a lot, nice touch!

[@felixrivera895]

Oh man. Oh man. This was one of the few episodes I was truly not spoiled for. It was. I'm so glad. Tis. Legendary is the word for it. And Mercer was so taken aback by the fact that Laura sold it to him And the Hag at the same time that Inspiration wasn't even good enough

[@christianali5431]

How “The Little Mermaid,” should have ended. “It won't cost much Just your voice! You Poor unfortunate…” “Cupcake? It’s blueberry.” “I suppose I could.”

[@markqurf]

The crew already in fighting position as Jester leaves the hut is so funny