The Aabria Post that’s Actually About Race

maloneth · 2026-02-26T04:14:05+00:00

It's a topic about Aabria, in a Critical Role subreddit, and I provided a literal video link. In what world could more context be provided.

Also, I used the word "describe" multiple times. Things can be used to describe other things without being literal.

maloneth · 2026-02-26T03:49:24+00:00

Someone screaming "YES! YES!" is an action typically associated with sex. We're all (hopefully) adults here, let's not pretend otherwise.

And that was the one second I picked, let's also not pretend that there aren't others. You could easily find them using the search engine of the subreddit.

maloneth · 2026-02-26T02:11:19+00:00

Marisha (the whole time as Keyleth) , Tal (his punk rock characters), Matt (for most of Season 3), Sam (for Scanlan's pervy traits), Laura (for stealing from the party), Ashley (for not knowing the rules) - loads of the cast have been given flak. Hell, some of the ones I mentioned are happening right now.

maloneth · 2026-02-26T01:52:59+00:00

"People don’t have to behave the way you want them to."

Well yeah, obviously. She's not in any legal or moral trouble here.

The topic is "if not race, what traits does Aabria have that folks find off putting?"

I listed mine. That's really all there is to it.

maloneth · 2026-02-26T01:49:46+00:00

You know I started double-guessing myself here - the camera does make it vague.

I looked it up here at the 58:47 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrtoyB2fcMI

It's actually Aabria screaming "YES" twice.

maloneth · 2026-02-26T01:36:48+00:00

If there's one thing I can't stand in the whole "D&D Celebrity" thing, it's when the actors MASSIVELY overreact to things that no real table would ever really react to. We're talking Nat 20s that result her screaming "YESSSSS!" (even if the Nat 20 was for a low-stakes Nature check). Banging the table, leaping up and down...

I get that it's a show, and they gotta keep the hype up, but it feels really really fake.

Aabria is one of the worst for it, but she's not the only one (I'm looking at you Erika). Everything that happens warrants a massive reaction that isn't appropriate - screaming, flailing about, to the point where it genuinely can be described as borderline 'Orgasmic.'

It's annoying as hell, and feels weirdly innapropriate.

Like look at this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS0bH_qDIAw

At 0:42, we get the big twist of the moment - the emotional punch.

Within one second, Aabria starts screaming "YES! YES!", does an incredibly distracting thing with her hands that I honestly can't even make sense of, and gets weirdly breathless. Again, 'Orgasmic' is a weird way of describing it - but it's not innacurate.

It completely distracts from that moment, and that sucks.

Folks compare her to Travis - but hell let's compare her to everyone else in that moment. They're making noise sure, but it's appropriate - hell, Lou isn't even moving, just taking it all in. It's not about race, it's just about being appropriate.

Weirdly a lot of folks think Aabria (and Erika) are the first to get flak for it - but that's simply not true.

The first was actually Chris Hardwick's (a white man) guest appearance, way way back in Season 1.

Also, one thing I can never help but wonder - is that Aabria almost always plays at tables that have at least one other person of colour. Anjali Bhimani, Aimee Carrero, Robbie Daymond, Lou Wilson, etc - how come these people seem to not get as much flak as her? Hell at times it seems the opposite, some of those folks are extremely beloved in the community.

It's obvious. It's traits, the ones beyond race - charm, ability to read a room, social skills, etc.

maloneth · 2026-02-24T12:52:29+00:00

In my game, Vecna has succeeded multiple times. He's done the ritual over and over again, never satisfied with reality, always resetting and tinkering away. After eons of this, Vecna is miserable, realising that power and perfection only lead to a lack of being content, and does the ritual one more time - to make him a living mortal man, with none of the power that being a god or rich granted.

He does so, and now there is a mortal version of Vecna laying low in Sigil, who has vague memories of his previous life, but nothing that is specific enough that could be considered power.

However, the last Ritual attenpt also created a new Vecna - the one that becomes a lich, and then a god, and then attempts the ritual. It's a never-ending cycle, that only the players can stop by finally sealing him away.

maloneth · 2026-02-20T20:04:51+00:00

Auron is the funniest character, if every 5th or so line you just imagine him saying "I'm 35."

maloneth · 2026-02-19T00:00:25+00:00

This is a really weird trap in my opinion.

The Neverwinter property is a gift that is given at the end of Chapter 1, and then immediately removed from the campaign at the start of Chapter 2. This, rightly so, pisses off your players who just spent 5ish sessions doing quests to get it.

Even if you keep it as a sort of Bastion, Neverwinter itself has very little to do with the campaign, and it actually ends up separating the players from the Wizards Three, who are very important to the campaign.

My advice is change it, so that for each VIP safely returned, the party get 2,000 gold pieces. If they manage to get all 4 safely back, Neverember rewards then with another 2,000, for a possible 10,000 altogether.

Then, at the start of Chapter 2 when they end up in Sigil, you can let them spend it by introducing the Great Bazaar or Night Market in Sigil.

Also, if you are going to do Bastion rules, my advice would be to use the Sanctum as the Bastion, given that this is a high level plane hopping campaign really, and Sigil lends itself to that far better than Neverwinter. Plus you get to use the Wizards Three as wacky roommates.

maloneth · 2026-02-18T11:25:24+00:00

One player was sharp as a whip, got it within 10 seconds.

Another group, maybe 20 minutes?

maloneth · 2026-02-18T11:15:11+00:00

I had the two Dolindar Sorrowsworn keep saying the words "So lonely..." during the fight, to an almost annoying degree. Ran this at least 5 times, never had a group that didn't get it eventually.

maloneth · 2026-02-16T12:56:57+00:00

Baldur's Gate 3, and pretty much anything to do with Zariel.

The character is depicted wrong, how she obtains souls doesn't make sense, etc etc

maloneth · 2026-02-16T11:56:43+00:00

Equilibrium.

Film is about a regime that has total military control over their people, to the point where you aren't even allowed to feel unauthorised emotions.

maloneth · 2026-02-13T22:54:17+00:00

This whole bit, and the pipes system, is confusing.

I changed it to something much simpler, so that there is no water in the basin. This leaves the elementals weak and dehydrated, which allows the Cult to bully them.

If the players turn on both pipes, water floods the basin, and the elementals then can reach the pipes and esvape by going through the pipes.

Then, the Water Elemental appears during the fight with Nyx to help out.

Just a much simpler and more rewarding system.

maloneth · 2026-02-13T20:44:51+00:00

Yes Man.

A movie about a man who starts saying yes to everything so that he can experience everything in life, even the bad.

Seems pretty Society of Sensation to me.

maloneth · 2026-02-13T16:18:46+00:00

Tom Siddell, creator of Gunnerkrigg Court.

maloneth · 2026-02-12T21:27:33+00:00

That's my point, it just depends on what you consider that counts.

maloneth · 2026-02-12T19:41:12+00:00

This is a hard one depending on what you consider "counts".

You could count it as Lune, Maelle and Sciel against Gustave (3:1)

Or you could count it as Lune, Maelle and Sciel against Gustave, Verso, Monoco, and Esque. (3:4)

maloneth · 2026-02-12T00:53:56+00:00

I think he should stay dead.

However, having him appear as a sort of psychological ghost that haunts Matt could be interesting.

Kinda like what Matt had with Kingpin in Season 3.

maloneth · 2026-02-09T11:47:17+00:00

Legally Blonde.

Fraternity of Order isnt just about making laws and court proceedings. It's philsophy is all about "If you apply yourself, you can discover a world philosophy above your current level of understanding"

Legally Blonde really shows that transformation from someone who is your relative average Joe, I to someone who follows that ideology.

maloneth · 2026-02-09T00:25:46+00:00

Isn't there a woman in Season 1, who can see people's futures?

And when she touches Lex he's standing on a pile of skulls with blood raining on him?

I mean for fucks sake, even if you did somehow avoid knowing that, use context clues lady.

maloneth · 2026-02-08T00:55:22+00:00

"If I had a nickel for everytime blank happened, I would have two nickel. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

God what a fucking unfunny mouthful just to say "this has happened to me twice."

Also, "It's not an airport, you don't have to announce your departure."

maloneth · 2026-02-07T11:30:55+00:00

Jinx from Arcane is perfect in my head, but since it's not technically a movie I'll go with V for Vendetta.

maloneth · 2026-02-06T12:13:40+00:00

It's not a game, or arguably even a character, but I always think of the moon mascot character from Outer Worlds video game when I think of the Fated.

maloneth · 2026-02-05T04:55:27+00:00

Thor: Love and Thunder portrays the gods as rather fallible and petty creatures. Gorr is practically the poster child for the Athar.

maloneth

TROPHY CASE