#In other news I love yeza

[essektheylyss]

My thing about Veth potentially venturing into polyamory is that I do think everyone involved would be perfectly fine with it and happy to help her experiment, and I think that no matter how they do it, it would not fix her. This isn't to say that she wouldn't get any benefit out of trying! It's just to say that it's not a solution to her actual problem, because I genuinely don't think the problem is that she's lacking any one thing that would make her life complete.

Fundamentally, I think Veth struggles with the idea that there will come a point at which she has to settle. Not in a bad way, just in the sense that she is one person with one life and she will have to live within those bounds. Because the thing is, I don't really think her issue ends at struggling to "have it all"; to an extent she does! She is a good parent, even if her kid is a little rebellious; her marriage is supportive (and has fun sex); she gets to go off to save the world with Yeza's blessing on occasion, when the world needs saving. She doesn't have all of these things all the time, but... that's not really a flaw, that's just a fact of life.

But she started out her adult life settling to an extent—even if she loved Yeza and loved being Luc's mom, she did the safe thing that was expected of her. The goblin attack and everything that transpired after shoved her out of that life, but in retrospect, to an extent it likely feels that that pushed her to find something more that she wouldn't have had otherwise. Being pushed to her limit under the worst conditions made her better, stronger, braver, and at the end of it she found that she could have both her original life and much of her new life—so why wouldn't she then wonder if further experiences of that ilk could do the same?

Crucially, she has not actually run up against a hard limit yet, and as such she hasn't had reason to believe that there is a point at which she has to stop and recognize that there isn't more for her to find. When she was drinking more heavily during missions, even when it caused the death of herself or others, there were no long-term consequences. And the thing is, I'm not saying that she should face that kind of major consequence, but she seems as though she is scared to accept that maybe she could be happy if she stopped before she does.

I'm also not suggesting that she should stop experimenting or trying new things—the Luxon knows I am not one to talk in that realm—but I do think she is searching for novelty not because that would make her happy, but because she doesn't believe that she has the capacity to know what would make her happy. She was unaware that polyamory was even an option, so think of what else she might not be aware of! She doesn't have perfect knowledge of the world, after all, so how can she trust that she's found what she really wants? So yeah, she could fuck someone else, and it might even be an enjoyable experience that she didn't know was missing! But that only prolongs the question of what else she might be missing.

I think that deep down, she's terrified that if she doesn't keep pushing until that external hard limit, she will end up with regrets later, and simultaneously she is resentful that her friends all seem to have reached a point where they are largely content with what they have, because she wants them to have everything. She wants herself to have everything. And she has not yet allowed herself to come to terms with the fact that only she can determine when the everything of what she already has is enough, and anything else is the cherry on top.

[quest-draws]

[ID: A four page black and white Critical Role fan comic titled "Adventures in Re-Veth-ification: Next Gen. Full transcript under the cut for length. End ID]

Getting this out at the literal last minute before it's immediately jossed.

Transcript:

Page 1

Panel 1

Jester and Fjord burst through a door way in a panic.

Jester: We're here, we're here! Are we too late!?

Panel 2

A wide shot of Veth and Yeza's bedroom. The room is filled with members of the Nein; Kingsley sits in the open window as it lets soft light spill into the room, Caduceus is sleeping on a stool, Essek is perusing the bookshelf, Veth is tucked into the bed with a bundle in her arms, Yeza beside and Caleb sitting on the end, Beau is squatting on a small rocking chair, Yasha leaning over the back.

Kingsley: Yeah. Lucky you.

Veth, weakly: Hey.

Beau: You're just in time for her to stop crying.

Panel 3

Jester carefully comes up to Veth's side

Jester: But, you're all right, right?

Veth: How could I not be?

Panel 4

Veth looks down at the bundle she's cradling- a baby halfling with little curls of black hair.

Veth: She's perfect.

Page 2

Panel 1

Fjord leans against the foot board, looking visibly relieved. Caleb let's Jester take his place at the foot of the bed as she holds the baby.

Jester: Ah! Veth! She's so beautiful! Have you decided on a name yet?

Yeza: Actually we wanted to talk to you about that...

Panel 2

Veth and Yeza look at each other, somewhat nervously.

Veth: So, it's usually bad luck to name a child after someone still living-

Panel 3

Jester listens to Veth, looking a little confused.

Veth, cont: - But you have a name you don't use anymore, so...

Panel 4

A wide shot of the room, but the rest of the Nein are rendered indistinctly, putting the focus on Jester, the baby, Veth, and Yeza.

Veth: Would you let us name her Genevieve?

Page 3

Panel 1

Jester stares, shocked-

Panel 2

-Then starts crying

Panel 3

Jester flops onto the thin slice of Bed beside Veth, cuddling her friend and the new baby.

Jester: Yes! yes, yes, of course you can! Aw, Veth, that really is perfect!

Panel 4

Jester wipes a tear out of her eye, smiling.

Jester: god, I'm so glad she's okay.

Panel 5

Veth looks confused.

Veth: Why wouldn't she be?

Page 4

Panel 1

Flashback to earlier on the ship, Jester is receiving a sending reply from Isharnai, the hag who once cursed Veth to be a goblin.

Isharnai: Oh, and give my love to your little halfling friend. i'm so excited about the new edition to her precious family!

Panel 2

Jester looks extremely nervous. Behind her, Fjord is also clearly freaking out.

Jester: Ha ha! No reason at all!

Panel 3

Later, Luc is holding Genevieve, looking at her in confusion. Small, spiky sticks seem to be sticking out of her temples. In the corner of the panel, there is a screenshot of the description for the Hexblood feature Heir of Hags. It reads;

One way hags create more of their kind is through the creation of hexbloods. Every hexblood exhibits features suggestive of the hag whose magic inspires their powers. This includes an unusual crown, often called an eldercross or a witch’s turn. This living, garland-like part of a hexblood’s body extends from their temples and wraps behind the head, serving as a visible mark of the bargain between hag and hexblood, a debt owed, or a change to come.

Yeza: Luc! Did you put sticks in Gen's hair?

Luc: No! They just kinda... showed up?

Transcript ends.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

IT'S MIGHTY NEIN DAY LET'S GOOOO

god, the SET, the COSTUMES, travis in full half-orc makeup — fucking gorgeous. but I do have the sneaking feeling that Matt is dressed as young Ludinus.......

The time: seven years after the peace treaty that ended the War of Ash and Light, immediately after the ignition of the Malleus Key. The level: 20. The setting: the Encanter's Rest, Blightshore, where Caleb and Beauregard have landed.

In the midst of this, Caleb has a terrifying realization: if his own collar has been disenchanted, what others have been, too? But Beau's priority is to get to Yasha, who was with Caduceus, and Caleb teleports them there with a chipped piece of gravestone.

The Blooming Grove is healthier than they've ever seen it, and the curse of the Savalirwood has been driven away slightly. Caduceus' hair is a vibrant pink again.

"We made it to the Malleus Key like we planned, but nothing ended as we planned. Da'leth brought down a champion of the Matron, into the heart of the dig site, and he did something — our vision went white, we woke up in a different part of the world —" "Long story short, everything's fucked. I think we need to rally the troupe."

Next stop: the deck of the Nein Heroez, docked in Nicodranas.

Fjord update: his level 20 multiclass is warlock 14/paladin 6, and holy fuck his new art—

Stone's Throw has acquired multiple new ships, including the Rumblecusp Express and the Sapphire of the Sea.

As they travel through Nicodranas toward Veth, they catch wind of something having spooked sea-beasts into the streets.

"I'm sorry, the place is a mess, the world has been turned upside down—" "Wait, something happened here too? What's wrong?" "I have a teenager!"

They sit down to have a conversation, alongside Yeza.

"Uh... Cerberus Assembly, global fuckery, the moon is not where it's supposed to be, Trent may not be imprisoned anymore — and we're getting the Nein back together to deal with it."

Jester update: she took flash recall as her 19th level feat.

Jester attempts to scry on Trent and it doesn't work. They immediately assume that he's broken out and has an amulet, but it could still be that the entire prison is warded against scrying.

"Caleb, do you need an amulet so he can't look in on you?" "Let him come." that's what we call character development!

The Nein, in true Nein fashion, decide to tackle the immediate problem first, rather than trying to push the moon back into space when they don't really know anything about it. Trent joined with Ludinus is far more dangerous than Ludinus on his own, so they'll take down Trent first and play whack-a-mole with the rest of the Assembly later.

Veth isn't sure if she should go with them, but Luc slams his door open — "mom, don't be a coward! You do this every time! You have to be an adventurer for everyone, that's our calling! You can ground me all you want, but I learned it from you!"

Caleb cuts in. "Young man, you do not take your mother's love for granted. Do you understand me?"

They start to leave, but Veth doesn't want to. Caleb draws the circle to the Cobalt Soul archive in Rexxentrum, he steps through, the last to go — and Luc, rogue 5/wizard 3, dashes through at the last second!!

The way the entirety of the Mighty Nein turns on Luc the second they realize he's there and are so protective of him is fucking adorable. Beau challenges him to hit her with a spell, but ol' uncle Caleb counters it and puts him in a wall of force. "We are dealing with people who could kill you with a blink. You are not ready. You are talented, and I'm proud of you, but you're not ready." Luc is out here using Sam's 22 charisma to convince everyone — including Caduecus — to let him stay. Caleb agrees, too, on one condition: that Luc will stay under his eye at every moment, and that he reserves the right to teleport Luc back home the second it becomes too dangerous.

On the upside, it appears that the teleportation circles in the Cobalt Soul are still working.

Since the solstice, the Cobalt Soul has closed its archive doors. They discovered that the master vault has had its wards interfered with and has actually been infiltrated and trapped from within — with Yudala Fon meeting with the king, they ask the Nein to investigate.

Caleb update: Fortune's Favor is his second-level spell mastery choice.

The hallway to the vault leads to a massive adamantine door covered in runes — though it would usually glow blue upon approach, the runes are cold and lifeless. It creaks open without issue.

Inside is a storage room filled with various chained crates, tomes, display cases, and other such things.

In the middle of the floor is a toothy mouth. "Welcome, Bren. You are nothing if not reliable. It feels good to be free — have had so much time to ponder. I can now see how solitude forged you, I now know the greatness that can come from endless quiet and conjecture. At the edges of my mind, many seek me in silence. I wonder If any partnership would meet my standards. I have much to thank you for, my exemplary pupil. It is only fitting you have now taught me, and I return renewed. I must confirm my theories, for they keep many secrets beneath this library. You are welcome to learn what I have, Bren." The magic mouth spell vanishes.

At the far end of the room is a figure, crouched — Aggy, a dwarvish monk (way of the drunken fist, presumably), level 5, played by Wembly Arena's announcer Daniel! The monk was sent into the archive ahead of them, but got caught in some kind of explosion. "Without being too rude, who the living fuck are you?"

Beau update: She got promoted to High Monk!

Fjord uses see invisibility, revealing a handle on the wall that was previously hidden. Aggy goes and headbutts it, inadvertently turning the lever and opening a secret door in the wall.

Through this new door, another mouth appears. "We have all done terrible things, Bren, and we all must be punished for them. I still pay the price, and so too shall he. The Shadowhand must step into his own might. I will tell the Bright Queen of his betrayal, and in this, he shall be made free to follow your path of pain. Only in suffering are we made paragon, and I will make you better; you will be my proudest achievement."

The passage leads to a series of terraced platforms that then lead to a room covered in lockboxes. Each is hidden with invisibility, and protected by various wards.

Aggy, brazenly running down the passageway and sticking his hand on one of the lockboxes, gets instantly killed by a disintegrate.

One of the lockboxes is slightly ajar, and no longer has a trap on it; the inside is empty except for a piece of paper, and another magic mouth appears. "To bleed is to scab, to break is to mend stronger, to hurt is to learn; but recklessness will only leave you dead and forgotten. I was called here to take of its blessing and release one of its forgotten nightmares; arrogance thinks it can use me, but I am the master here. I am he who feeds on ambition, he who drinks of promise and leaves nothing unearned." He tells Caleb to meet him at the ruins of his childhood home — "dinner will be waiting."

Beau comforts Caleb in the way that she does. "You've worked really hard to overcome this. You are above this." "You are right. I don't care that he taunts me. But he doesn't need to be breathing anymore."

With at nat20 plus true seeing, Beau can see the name of what each lockbox contains. The two that were ajar read "adrenus sap," a rare unholy ichor distilled for use in abyssal rituals to bind servants of the abyss or undeath to their domains, or to ensnare such creatures; and "afterimentahl," an arcane binding stone used to capture powerful beings for study, syphoning, or experimentation. The ones known typically contain an entity from the Calamity or before, but the process of creating them has been lost.

back from break and so ready to watch them finally kill this motherfucker—

They put up the tower to sleep for the night, and cast a heroes' feast preemptively.

Caleb uses wish to cast simulacrum on himself to create a copy. He then gives Luc his luck stone, re-attunes his ring of evasion, and casts mind blank on himself before going to bed.

And with a night's rest, Caleb can prepare another 9th level spell or can keep wish — he didn't even have to roll for it because he duplicated a spell! 20th level wizards are a hell of a thing.

With potions drank, fog clouds created, and a heroes' feast had, the Nein plus Luc teleport to Blumenthal.

As they approach, Caleb feels the ghost of his grief, but he has come to terms with it. The house that stands here looks exactly like his childhood home. "I have done what I have needed to do in this world. If I don't walk from this, I need you to get that boy to safety."

Inside, there is laughter — Una's, followed by Leofric's, mingled with Trent's. Caleb walks in, followed by Jester and Fjord. With divine sense, Fjord reads both Una and Leofric as undead. Caleb's simulacrum is polymorphed into a sabertooth to protect Luc. The rest flank the house and watch through the windows.

Breakfast is set at the table. There are seven empty chairs.

"Mother, don't you think it's strange, you haven't changed one iota?" "Not at all. He has given us a second chance." With an insight check, Caleb sees them for what they are: just bodies, reanimated.

Jester leans, says "I'm sorry" to Caleb — and casts turn undead. Both parents fail their saves, fall back. Trent's face falls. "Wery well, then. Perhaps the lesson should start with me." The entire house explodes, but their preparation reduces the damage significantly, and before them is Trent Ikithon, floating up in the air — and where Una and Leofric were are two ghoulish corpses.

time for initiative and combat updates!

Trent's spell save DC is 22. That's just about on-par for a 20th-level wizard with money; a 22 INT plus a robe of the archmagi gets him there, and an arcane grimoire can compensate for no robe or a 20 INT.

Trent can use 2 legendary actions to cast a spell.

Caleb Prime: *downed* Caleb 2: immediately turns into a fucking t-rex

Luc casts see invisibility and reveals that Trent's avatar is an illusory duplicate, and the real Trent is crouched behind a tree like a little fucking creep.

After a chain lightning, a meteor swarm that did higher-than-average damage, and a massive house explosion, everyone's back to full with a mass heal! So with two clerics in the party with a 9th level each, plus a guaranteed divine intervention that can duplicate a mass heal, these fuckers have a latent health pool of 2800 hit points.

Beau update: Her 19th level feat is mobile.

In an antimagic field, Trent is cowering — "but this is why the intelligent prepare. Omentis, be unleashed." The field doesn't suppress artifacts, and he breaks the afterimentahl against his chest. From where he stands, an orb of pitch darkness grows, and a 40-foot entity made of purplish and black shadow, with four arms and glowing purple orbs begins to stalk toward Blumenthal itself.

Seeing that, Caleb plants one palm, two palms on the ground — and uses shapechange to transform into Gelidon, the Nightmare in Ivory.

KAIJU FIGHT!!

and then, just to top it all off, Luc casts enlarge on the fucking t-rex!

"Arty, if there's ever a time we needed you—" Jester uses gate to pull Artagan out of the feywild and right into this fucking kaiju fight. "Don't worry, Jester, I've got y—oh, what have you brought me into?! Really?!"

An archfey, an ancient dragon, a giant t-rex, and the avatar of an abyssal archfiend tethered to the soul of a 20th-level archmage walk into a bar...

With holy weapon active, Yasha does 168 damage in a turn without a crit.

Its full name is Omentis, Scion of Ruin. Everyone within 60 feet gets hit with its "void hunger," automatically takes necrotic damage at the top of its turn. It also has "aura of oblivion," a beam that emits from its face and deals massive (as in, 150 points on a failed save) force damage. Its AC is 24, and it is considered undead.

With his passive perception, Caleb notices that the crystal that Trent shattered is still visible in its chest.

Luc notices and targets the artifact, which causes the shadow holding the creature together to flicker.

Caduceus uses divine intervention (which automatically succeeds) to cause the creature's shadow to become translucent, so that they can see the artifact clearly within it. In the center, with the crystal at his heart, is the shadowy echo of Trent, hanging like a puppet.

what is it with live shows and nat20s at crucial story moments???

With a nat20 strength check, Beau rips the heart from the creature. All the shadows swirl around it and get pulled back into the egg, and as it reforms, Trent himself gets pulled, screaming, into it — Beau tosses it up, Gelidon catches it and smashes it into the ground.

As the dust settles, the people of Blumenthal gather, and the sun begins to rise.

The heart remains intact, but sealed forever with Trent inside it.

Caleb uses demiplane — which opens into a familiar nine-sided tower — to seal the heart away for..... future use.

They decide that after all this, Luc deserves a party — not least of all to celebrate Fjord and Jester's engagement!

At the end of it all, Caleb uses the tower to cook a feast for all of Blumenthal.

"While this was a singular victory, it is still the beginning of much work to be done."

[critter-genfic-events]

A Cooking/Food Rec List

This week, we have nine (nein) fics that feature food: cooking, baking, sharing meals, and tea. Check them out beneath the cut and if you like them, remember to comment and kudos!

inside the walls we built by essektheylyss (divinationwizard) (3367,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Essek Thelyss & Verin Thelyss

Den dinners are never something that Essek looks forward to, and this time around, his brother is in town.

Reccer says: I love their sibling relationship here!

and blow the dry leaves from the tree by friendly_ficus (1635,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Yeza Brenatto & Yasha

On a cold Nicodranas morning, Yasha makes an unanticipated friend (and pancakes)

Reccer says: I love the idea of these two characters interacting and hanging out, and I don't think I've seen it before!

A Recipe for Spaaldl by Beauteousmajesty (2697,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Caduceus Clay & Essek Thelyss

Knowing that Essek cannot go home, the Mighty Nein conspire to bring the taste of home to Essek, resulting in a foraging and cooking session for Cad and Essek. Essek knows the flavours but cannot cook, and Caduceus can cook but has no clue what mushroom spaaldl should taste like.

Reccer says: I liked it

Rock and Roll Kitchen by Beauteousmajesty (892,Teen) Warnings: Pairings: Fresh Cut Grass & Ashton Greymoore & Milo

Milo is summoned from their work for a meal prepared by Ashton and Fresh Cut Grass. Regretfully, Milo is fairly certain that neither of them can cook. It's free food though, so they're willing to try.

Reccer says: Very cute slice of life vibes!

build a quilt (from all who have loved me) by friendly_ficus (7405,Teen) Warnings: Major Character Death (canonical) Pairings: Jester Lavorre & The Mighty Nein

An AU where Jester has a baking youtube channel

Reccer says: It's sweet and in character, with the way that Jester processess's Molly's grief - and also the video comments and usernames are very cute!

Cookies for Laudna by Mirach (2526,General) Warnings: Major Character Death (canonical) Pairings: Ariks Eshteross & Laudna

Lord Eshteross bakes the cookies he promised for Laudna. Later, when he is dead and Laudna is alive, she bakes the same cookies and remembers him.

Reccer says: Very sad and sweet

Homemade by CitizenMocha (4102,General) Warnings: none Pairings: Vex'ahlia & Vox Machina, Elaina & Vex'ahlia (Critical Role)

As the opening of their bakery approaches, Vex and her fellow Slayer's Cake co-owners work to expand their menu. Vex is from Byroden, so this should be easy as pie.

Reccer says: Sweet and sad, I love how this takes what we saw of Byroden in Exu and puts it into a new context

A Traditional Event by InkDippedFeathers (1881,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Jester Lavorre & Essek Thelyss, background Shadowgast

Essek hosts a tea party for the ever chaotic Mighty Nein

Reccer says: A cute and funny moment of Essek handling the chaos of the Mighty Nein

Lavender Tea by bluegreenamber (2672,Mature) Warnings: Major Character Death Pairings:

Cree and the tombtakers seek out some local Shadycreek legends after Lucien's death.

Reccer says: I love fics that consider the sorts of relations they would have outside of the scope of the campaign - Cree knowing about the Clays as local legends makes a lot of sense, if not something I would have ever thought about before.

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, it'll be Time/Dimension Travel. Other universes, Isekai, time travel (in either direction) - all work.

Then the weeks after that, it'll be storytelling, Grog focused stories, and then Cross-Campaign works!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

Oh! Also! Critter Gen Week is happening! Prompts have been announced, you should check them out.

And hey, if you're looking for some more good gen content, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Hello all! Hope your Wednesday is going well. Today we have nine Pre-Relationship fics for you to enjoy! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 🩷

gravity-bound by hanap (7,591 words, Teen) Pairing: Jester Lavorre/Essek Thelyss (Jessek) Warnings: None

Essek writes poetry under a pen name, Jester is a fan, she writes to him and they start to exchange letters over many years.

Reccer Says: I love epistolary fic, and also its so cute. There's a lot of background details of canon events we can fill in the background through the letters contents, which is very fun.

in the pieces of what's left or what we've found by SeaWitchDreams (14,620 words, Teen) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Blumenshadow) Warnings: None

Post canon, Astrid decides what to do with Ikithon's tower, and her life.

Reccer Says: Its a nice long read, and the character beats are complex and nuanced, bc that's what Astrid deserves <3

That Lucidian Glow by fjorests_of_wildemount (455 words, General) Pairing: Kingsley Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss (Shadowking) Warnings: None

Essek needs to put on sunscreen, Kingsley volunteers.

Reccer Says: It's fun and cute moment <3

to be in someone else's coat by jaskofalltrades (1,369 words, General) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

After Essek's dinner with the Nein at the Xhorhaus, Molly and Caleb walk him home. Flirting, of course, ensues.

Reccer Says: It's so fun to see how Essek responds to Molly's relentless flirting, filtering through Caleb's observations on how new Essek is to friendship. And how he can tell that Essek wants that companionship so badly! It's very sweet.

though we're tethered to the story we must tell (when I saw you, well, I knew we'd tell it well). by exhaustedwerewolf (4,535 words, Teen) Pairing: Polymachina Warnings: Mentions of backstory typical violence and character death

On one wrist is your greatest love. On your other, your greatest adversary. And for a certain group of fated adventurers, one of these follows a pattern.

Reccer Says: I'm always a sucker for a good soulmate AU and I *love* ones of this flavor. The angst of not knowing which name is which is delicious and the way this fic plays with that for each member of VM is so good! Also love that the love-bonds don't Have to be romantic, I always appreciate that when it comes to soulmate AUs. And the way it all comes together in the end for VM is just... so good. Also the character voices in the narration? Spot on.

know no shame by hanap (4,453 words, Teen) Pairing: Adeen Tasithar/Essek Thelyss Warnings: None

What if Essek and Adeen had crushes on each other as teenagers and were adorable, messy disaster about it?

Reccer Says: It's so cute. Like oh-my-god so cute. They're adorable with each other and baby wizard Essek trying to join the Aurora Watch so he can spend more time with Adeen has my WHOLE heart. The messy teenage feelings! The circumstances keeping them apart! Deirta and Dad Thelyss's reactions to them!!! It's all so so good.

The Sunny Side by dracoqueen22 (1,767 words, General) Pairing: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett (Beaujes) Warnings: None

There’s nothing Beau won't do if it’ll make Jester smile, even if it means fixing something as minor as a sunburn.

Reccer Says: Cutteee <3 Beau is just so smitten. Plus Cad being his odd self in the first half <3

Today I Love You Even More by wtgw (5,687 words, Teen) Pairing: Yeza Brenatto/Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast Warnings: None

Yeza Brenatto is a creature of infinite anxiety, but he’s not blind. He can see how much Veth loves Caleb. He can see how much Caleb loves her back. And he can also see that Caleb is really attractive. But it’s not like he’s not going to do anything about that…

Reccer Says: Yeza Brenatto is just a perfect sweetheart always and there's this scene where the three of them are sitting around drunk complementing each other that is just too cute

Just Between Friends by biorusted (3,624 words, Explicit) Pairing: Ashton Greymoore/Orym/Dorian Storm (Dashrym) Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Aspec Dorian talks with Ashton and Orym about how sex has always felt to him and they share their feelings in return. Things escalate from there. Just as friends, of course.

Reccer Says: Aspec Dorian my beloved <3 always love the dynamics between these three, they fit together so well.

Thank you for joining us this week’s recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 🩷 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 🩷

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Canon Divergent fics. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Keyleth Rarepairs and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Polyamorous Ships and Enemies to Lovers fic! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 🩷

[softbean]

me psychoanalyzing the veth origins comic panel by panel like a madman

(aka a journey in real time of aurie discovering her headcanons are actually canon)

I haven’t finished the campaign but I could swear Sam has never explicitly confirmed Veth hated the way she looked, not only as a goblin but also as a halfling. Every time her ugliness has been brought up it’s in the context of her being TOLD that she was ugly by other people, but this is the first time I recall it being confirmed that she also believed she was ugly.

Kinda hammers it home for me that the bullying she endured isn’t just a background part of her story, a meet-cute kind of setup for her to kiss kiss fall in love with Yeza, but something that is still relevant, and something she still carries as a scar into adulthood. Def mentioned in canon, but never emphasized like it is here.

Another indicator that she felt alone and unloved in her family, to the point where she didn’t consider her actual family a “home”.

Yeza must have been the first person to accept her and show her love, and she sort of clung to that little piece of happiness she had for the first time. She is trying to rewrite the pains of the past with new experiences, which in itself isn’t anything unhealthy, but I truly wonder how much of her faith she put into yeza’s ability to love her, as opposed to how much faith she put into her own lovability.

Something that suddenly pierced my mind when I saw this panel is “I wonder why Veth was transformed into a goblin girl as opposed to a grown goblin woman like the rest of these goblins here.”

I have my own theories, and it’s the same one I spout every time, but I firmly believe Veth’s curse is a metaphor, and a reflection of her truest fears and insecurities.

Not “I know you have it in there”, but “I know you have one in there”.

I like to think she’s never really been brave before, and even yeza knows. or, there really isn’t much of an occasion for her to show her braveness (even though to me she shows it every day just by living, choosing to live). this implication that yeza’s never seen her brave side before makes me think she must rely on him and his strength quite a bit in this relationship.

Losing all of her happiness that she had worked so hard for...she can’t go through that again. Parallels are being drawn here. Those who made her unhappy before, and those who make her unhappy now. Bullies.

What a powerful line. It’s uncertain whether she truly means it or not (I would argue not). But by choosing to forgive, she is taking back the power that these bullies stole from her. Even contemplating the idea is powerful. I would say she says this to the goblin right after the panel where she resolves to not let this happen again as a way to try to appeal to the goblin’s humanity.

It doesn’t work. She discovers she and the goblin are more alike than she imagined, which makes the fact that the goblins know what they’re doing is evil and simply don’t care even more infuriating.

Breaks my heart to know she learned lock picking to get away from her bullies, but I should’ve seen this one coming tbh...

As soon as she does the brave thing (splash acid on the goblin) she breaks down and loses her courage again. Goes to show just how far she’s come as present day M9 nott/veth who, quite frankly, has rarely shown a moment of cowardice...

Hoooly shit. Seeing this line being said visually is cementing something in my brain.

Isharnai doesn’t know anything about Veth. She wasn’t asked to “turn her into a goblin”. She was asked to “make her suffer”. And knowing how when Yasha walked into her hut to offer her misery in exchange for Veth’s curse to be broken, and Isharnai immediately told her she was already miserable and had nothing of value to offer, we can imagine that Isharnai has some sort of distinguishing vision. And so she took a look at Veth, someone who believes she is ugly, believes she is a coward, and turned her into the manifestation of her worst nightmares.

And you know what struck me? The reason why she was turned into a goblin girl was because Veth finally found some semblance of control in her adult life, after having suffered a childhood being shoved around by others more powerful than her. Reducing her back to the state in which she was most traumatized is making her suffer.

Take a good look.

The river is a mirror. The person she really is, someone wonderful, someone who has built a life of her own, that person was drowned. In her stead Veth became the person she believed she was, hideous, cowardly, and not good...

with no control over herself once more.

Her greatest fears, reflected at her, made true. The punishment was tailored to her.

YOU GUYS I WROTE THE ABOVE TEXT BEFORE I EVEN GOT TO THIS PAGE. IM SCREAMING. THEY JUST SPELLED IT OUT. I DONT EVEN HAVE TO ANALYZE ANYMORE SKDSKDJSJKDJKSDJKJ

God...she is so good. This just shows how empathetic she is in nature. Even at this point she believes she is at fault, that she did something wrong through self-defense. It’s also interesting that at this point she can’t distinguish between right and wrong.

nothing to say here besides i just love this panel

EVEN THIS IS GIVING ME FEELINGS

That’s all folks...this has been a ride. basically what i’ve learned is that all my headcanons have now been established as canon--and I’m really glad, I’m really glad this comic spelled out a lot of the meaning behind veth’s character that I find is hard to firmly grasp in the actual show, and often gets lost or forgotten in fandom discourse about veth.

(I also feel soooo damn justified in some creative decisions i make about her in my fanfic but that’s just my little glowing moment of like, I interpreted things correctly before they were explicitly confirmed...!!!)

anyway. NOTT THE BRAVE ICON. SAM RIEGEL LEGEND. THAT’S ALL!!! Thanks for reading <3

[queen-scribbles]

🎶 ✏️ 🏅 for the fic asks!

Already answered music, so for the other two:

✏️ What is your fave fic from another writer?

Oh, don't do this to me, there's SO MANY. UM. Gonna pick something new from my fallback answers to this question and say @storyknitter 's Medieval AU I'm so tempted to do my own every time she adds to it holy shit

but I also love everything Rhi writes and your Moira/Red stuff and jadesabre's Yeza/Veth CritRole fics an-

THERE'S TOO MUCH. TOO MANY TALENTED WRITERS.

🏅 What is the fic you’re most proud of?

I'm v proud of a lot of stuff, but proudest is probably one of the longfics. OWaP bc I'm still posted(and invested in writing) even tho it's been a decade+ and tLBT bc it's just. So much. Bringing in the lore from ShoH canon and making it really feel like the 20s is so very vey very fun but it's also a lot of work and I'm really proud that it's coming together so well. Capturing and transporting the Ryn/Red dynamic to another universe without losing what makes them Them. Also seems to be staying on track so far? Might only wind up with one chapter more than planned? *knocks on wood*

[sparring-spirals]

It’s about the

We deserve a soft ending my love

We’re good people and we’ve suffered enough

I mean what a fucking end it would be huh

But also I don’t want them to die so close to their goal so I 100% get your point

They didn’t research in all-nighters and worked so hard for it to End Like That.

(context)

Well, what I've learned from this ask is that I apparently have an unspoken, maybe unearned confidence that Matt wasn't going to put any of the prior PC-now-NPC's into a significant amount of danger? Or not the same level of danger as the PC's. Like- they're all hanging out trying to prevent the world ending, so there's a kind of inherent level of danger there. But there are ways to handle that that don't involve, like, rolling con saves and attack throws and stealth and death saving throws for each of them for the whole thing. (As cool as that COULD be).

(Also: Failure by no means equates to death! In most cases it probably wont! Im almost certain that, worst case, if the world ends here it will do so in a way that neccessitates folks go save it.)

That said! I could be wrong. So. Exploring that option. Hmm.

Prefacing everything else with a: I DEFINITELY WOULD NOT LIKE THE EMPIRE KIDS OR KEYLETH OR ANY OTHER PAST PC'S TO DIE. Well.

(bear with me, this gets a little off topic)

I think there's a kind of love that comes from a PC turning into an NPC, specifically after a whole campaign has concluded, with a happy epilogue. You're right- they deserve a happy ending, a soft epilogue. And the funny thing is- they got one! Technically! They got their flashforwards and the cast painting lovely pictures, and they did their whole. World ending and we saved it and most importantly saved ourselves and each other and augh okay no getting distracted with c2 campaign ending feels.

But technically, they got one, they finished their stories and did their growth and got their soft conclusions. Beau returns to Yasha after hard days and Caleb grows green beans and shares fond stories with Essek when he drops by, and dinners with Veth and Yeza and his tower with all of the Mighty Nein. They got it! They are currently in it.

Matt has now, risen them back as NPC's, and that's both very different and its own form of love, too. Their story ended, but this way, we get this reminder that the characters didn't. My favorite aspect of the epilogues was that they all left room for the characters to keep going. Keep growing, keep fucking up- irrevocably changed by the journey, new paths opened up, better for it. But not crystallized. Their story, the campaign, ended, but they didn't.

and so having them as NPC's is kind of the epitome of that, right? In the same way that my idle headcanon about Beau going with Fjord and Jester and Kingsley on trips under the guise of Cobalt Soul work, serving as first mate, could potentially mean everyone getting snapped up by some fuck all huge sea leviathan. Its nice to think of these characters going on and doing things in the background, things they want to do, and are free to do, even if the things make me go "God DAMMIT what are you doing here i thought you guys were SAFE AT HOME where i wouldnt need to WORRY ABOUT YOU ANYMORE".

You're right- it would be a fucking shame, so close to the end, after all that work and all those all-nighters. But there's something vaguely comforting about knowing that Beau and Caleb chose to do this, that they've had years now, of being happier and free and content and choosing to chase down these assholes and stop them from hurting others and ruin their plans. And that if things go sour- they chose it, they were happier for it, they knew what they were getting into and, backing each other up, walked into it with their eyes open.

But yeah, they better not fucking die.

[jestercanheal]

Okay yall know Caleb was this close to telling everyone his backstory

[flashhwing]

man I wanna rewatch the entire eiselcross/aeor arc but that like what. episodes 111-141. 30 solid like 4-5 hour episodes. why can’t this show have small easily digestible/re-watchable arcs. I don’t wanna dedicate 120 hours to rewatching one thing

[widonotts]

once i finally get all my thoughts on yeza and toxic positivity together in a cohesive and comprehensible manner it’s gonna be over for y’all

[brensquared]

its fascinating to see how nott talks about her family and the clan in the time between the end of the pirate arc and when the nein go to felderwin for the first time. because on the one hand shes So vague about everything, avoids giving any straight answers, and in hindsight thats sus (and definitely foreshadowing the fact that almost everything we knew about her up until that point was missing some crucial information for context, or simply false).

on the OTHER hand, she keeps referring to Yeza as her "friend" (and interestingly, I dont think any of the other party members - even jester - have suggested Yeza might have been someone nott loved romantically?). which means that veth is two for two on "downplayed the depth of my romantic feelings/interest in a nerdy guy by referring to him as a friend/platonic relation".

and that, in and of itself, is interesting! at this point in time (episode 48), nott doesnt believe she could ever really be with Yeza again. she hasnt reunited with him, her family thinks shes dead. so instead of allowing herself to grieve that relationship, she puts a distance there. hes not her husband, hes a friend. hes just a guy she knew. she didnt grow up a halfling in felderwin, she was with the clan. she invents this elaborate fake backstory for goblin nott and yeza's "past" together - because she still loves him, so much, and she cant fully cut him out of her history and her life and her heart

and then theres caleb - nott clearly felt so so much for him, and it was so complicated. as nott she could freely admire him, and follow him, and be his friend and walk beside him and sleep curled up next to him (because veth was the one who slept next to yeza, and veth was dead, wasn't she?) The collision of her reluctant new identity as Nott and her history as Veth as the nein go to rescue Yeza brings those conflicting feelings to the forefront; in some ways they each represent her possible choices, in the span of time between late arc 3 and the beginnings of arc 5. live a peaceful life as a housewife with yeza, or continue adventuring with caleb.

We know, despite everything, that she did feel romantic attraction to Caleb because of a scene where she admits but also downplays it - she claims that on the night they first met, she felt some attraction to him, but then she got to know him and she stopped feeling that way. but then, right before they perform Transmogrification, she tells him he is the second love of her life and kisses him - the most honest about her feelings for him that I think she ever was, to herself and others.

she put that distance between herself and her feelings for caleb because she felt guilty, because it wasn't something she was supposed to still want, now that she had her husband back.

i think it's very interesting to see that that behavior isnt just something she did in regards to caleb, but that shes also seen doing it with her marriage; moreover, I think it all fits into the patterns of behavior where nott/veth prioritizes the needs of others over her own. shes so focused on other people because she cant stop and examine her own wants or needs without falling apart on some level, so she just pushes them aside, downplays what's going on, and acts like nothing is wrong

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

So the cops just left my house about an hour ago after getting called for a party my sister had while I was sleeping…can I have some fluffy hc about all cannon ships (VM and M9) and any bells hells ships you have?

Pikelan: Pike has a bracelet made out of one of Scanlan's lute strings. She made it herself after it snapped off when he was practicing, made a clasp for it and refuses to take it off. Even after they divorce, she still wears it.

Percahlia: Percy does her hair before every single big meeting. He has long since learned the ways that she likes it done best and it provides them a moment of quiet together before anything stressful.

Vaxleth: Whenever Keyleth gets new nail polish, she always tests it on Vax first to see what the color actually looks like and how many coats it needs. Vax loves it, especially when she puts really bright colors on him. Plus all the kids in Zephrah compliment him on it.

Shadowgast: Whenever Caleb eats an orange, he always shares at least a little bit with Essek because Essek adores eating them since they were so rare in the Dynasty.

Fjorester: Fjord constantly has a small sketchbook and pencil in his pocket whenever he goes just in case Jester finds something she wants to draw and doesn't have her book.

Beauyasha: The two of them spar at least every other day. It both helps them to keep their abilities sharp but it also helps them reconnect after long days and time apart.

The Brenattos: Yeza collects things for Veth, stamps and ribbons and buttons, but he always leaves them around their house or yard or gives them to Luc to give to her because she likes being able to find them herself.

[critter-genfic-events]

Epistolary or Diegetic Fics!

This week we have eight fics that feature text that the characters could read themselves! Letters, abstracts, texts, and the occasional sending, they're all featured under the cut!

like coloured indigo inscribed with my name by KmacKatie (kmackatie) (30,648, Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: The Mighty Nein & Essek Thelyss, Shadowgast

Mighty Nein Group texts and Shadowgast slowburn

Reccer says: What I like about it: The formatting is so good, and the chat messages capture the different character voices so good. It has very cozy found family vibes with the usual M9 shenenigans. A feelgood read! Best read on a computer for the full experience of the format.

You'll Hear When I Do by Beauteousmajesty (1,273, General) Warnings: None Pairings: Mentions of Yeza/Veth

Felderwin residents gossip about alleged sightings of Veth Brenatto in town, years after she was supposed to have died.

Reccer says: This fic feels just like you'd expect small town gossip to feel. It's fun to see how the Nein's antics would look from the perspective of random townspeople who only see them from afar.

From the Mixed-Up Files of The J. Lavorre Catalogue Raisonné by renquise (2328, General) Warnings: none Pairings: none

A selection of commentary on Jester Lavorre's art

Reccer says: I love thinking about how the Mighty Nein would be remembered, hundreds of years on, and this is an amazing fic exploring what the art history world would make of Jester.

a book of light by vietbluecoeur (vietbluefic) (1558, Teen) Warnings: Pairings: Deirta Thelyss & Essek Thelyss

Snippets into the private writings of a saint, following the death of a heretic

Reccer says: I like delving into the complications of Essek and Deirta's relationship, especially from Deirta's point of view! This fic does so well

From the Case Files of the Corrington Scandal Investigation by Professor_Rye (2594, Mature) Warnings: SA/Rape (implied) Pairings: The Mighty Nein & Essek Thelyss, Ludinus Da'leth/Essek Thelyss

A case file about the kidnapping and subsequent rescue of a certain drow. Modern AU.

Reccer says: The attention to detail and wonderful execution of the epistolary format, the way the narrative slowly unravels, and of course, the angst.

last letter by bittersnake (1373,General) Warnings: None Pairings:

Irme's letter to Nydas Okiro, right before everything happened.

Reccer says: I liked it

The Number You Have Reached Is Not In Service by Killbothtwins (225,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Orym & Dorian Storm

Attempted sendings between Orym and Dorian after the Apogee Solstice

Reccer says: It's lovely and in character and I want to know how the other half of the Crownkeepers are doing, too

Descriptions of a River Flowing by Operafloozy (6427,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: None

Five known aliases of Essek Thelyss, and one that (perhaps) will be forgotten.

Reccer says: It's funny and snarky, and then gets contemplative

If you liked this rec list, follow along for more! We'll be posting a new list with a new theme each Monday. Want to make your own recs? Check out the rules, and then use the form to submit!

Next week, the theme is featuring neurodivergent characters! A number of different headcanons and canon readings are welcome.

If you're looking for some more, there's some good stuff in the critter genfic bingo tag! We added a new one this week! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Hey all, hope everyone's having a good Wednesday! Today we have eight whump fics for your enjoyment! Some are on the lighter side, some are much heavier, so don't forget to mind the warnings! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 🩷

if you must falter, be wise by mabarihound (3,546 words, Explicit) Pairing: Eadwulf Grieve/Essek Thelyss (Esswulf) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Unhappy Ending, Dubious Consent, Cannibalism, Body Horror

Wulf dies but Essek brings him back as a vampire, a la the Briarwoods.

Reccer Says: unhappy ending TO YOU. I'm built different. Essek is so fucking insane in this, Wulf is barely human, there's so much blood and bad sex, it's gruesome and sad and amazing. Love doesn't fix anything but it makes a thrilling story!

The Self in the Other by fjorests_of_wildemount (1,010 words, Teen) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve (Blumenduo) Warnings: None

After killing some of Trent’s loyalists, Astrid and Wulf head home to tend their wounds.

Reccer Says: It’s a delicious glimpse into what post-C2 might look like for these two and I love it. Their dynamic oozes of the decade and a half of history between them and it’s so good.

Crowned Teeth (or, an Offering Revoked) by fruitzbat (130,570 words, Mature) Pairing: Kingsley Tealeaf/Original Female Character Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Slavery, Mentioned but Not Depicted Sexual Violence

Kingsley escapes being kidnapped by pirates after being mutinied against. Finding himself a long way from home, Kingsley then resorts to hunting the people responsible down with the help of a new ragtag bunch of misfits that call him captain.

Reccer Says: With respect to the rarepair, I think it's a fun dynamic. fruitzbat does a really good job of capturing all of those weird, uncomfortable nooks and crannies that come with new relationships. And I think most importantly, Kingsley really stretches his wings as his own person. There is such a clear vision of what he's like and how that's distinct from Molly and Lucien, and that clearness really carries throughout both this piece and the rest of the series.

which is a tenderness. by redhoods (5,724 words, Mature) Pairing: Fjord/Caleb Widogast (Widofjord) Warnings: Fjord-typical Self Harm, Fantasy Racism

Caleb returns to the tavern and learns Fjord has gotten hurt in a bar fight then locked himself in their room, refusing healing.

Reccer Says: Fjord angst and tender wound care *chef's kiss* (and also just a touch of trans Fjord)

i feel you, your precious soul by glossolali (6009 words, Mature) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss (Shadowmauk) Warnings: Offscreen Past Non-Consensual Body Modification, Mentions of Limb Loss & Amputation, Mentions of Disordered Eating, Selective Mutism, Panic Attacks

Essek, a cyberware expert, medical technician and researcher, helps his friends save Mollymauk’s life using what he knows best. What he didn't count on, was the connection that would develop between them, and his own misgivings about it.

Reccer Says: Cyberpunk/cybernetics AU, Essek has mixed feelings about fixing up Molly, and about initiating a relationship (established shadowgast, established widomauk, but Essek hasn't said anything to Molly about them yet). Its great <3 mollymauk's half cybernetic/prosthetics, and the malfunctioning is pretty oof

fell in love with the fire long ago by BananasofThorns (2,501 words, Teen) Pairing: Fjord/Caleb Widogast (Widofjord) Warnings: Mind Control, Burns

Caleb has been mind controlled and is attacking the party with deadly intent. Fjord has a ring of fire resistance and a bad plan.

Reccer Says: What's not to love about a person being forced to hurt those they care about and then blaming themself for it? I've rearead this 3 times.

by the water by nonbinarywithaknife (578 words, Teen) Pairing: Veth Brenatto/Yeza Brenatto Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Nott-Typical Alcoholism

In Felderwin, Nott sits by the river and remembers.

Reccer Says: Mostly sad, briefly sweet. She's really been going through it😢

Peace At Last by HyperKid (4,770 words, Mature) Pairing: Jester Lavorre/Mollymauk Tealeaf (Jestermauk) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Mentioned Past Character Death

After Cognouza, Jester takes some quiet time to herself in the Blooming Grove. Molly finds her and they cuddle and talk through some difficult emotions.

Reccer Says: It's heartaching and sweet in equal measures. The atmosphere is beautiful and suits it so well. Molly and Jester fit together so well, like the softest of puzzle pieces, if that makes sense. Their relationship feels natural and you can sense the strength of their bond in each moment. It's got some wonderful mentions of Jester's struggle with being the Happy One and Molly having lost so much time while his friends have grown as well, on top of all of the other deliciously angsty feelings the two of them are coping with.

Thank you for joining us this week's recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 🩷 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 🩷

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Pre-Relationship fics. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Canon Divergence and the week after that we're taking recommendations for rarepairs including Keyleth! Submissions for both themes are also currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 🩷

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E131 (March 30, 2021)

Tonight’s guests are Liam O’Brien and Sam Riegel!

Brian points out that a lot of Caleb’s greatest fears have come to pass. Liam: “It’s funny, because he’d kind of believed for a while that those things weren’t going to happen. After a while, he got complacent.” He notes that it was extra wild because everything with Trent popped up again in the midst of that complacency. And how did it feel to be defiant toward Trent? “I think Trent successfully made Caleb question if Caleb really was in control“ at the dinner party. “I feel like anything that I do is part of his plans for me, or is that just gaslighting? I’m legitimately scared of that dude.” Sam: “Of Matt?” Liam: “Sure.” He highlights the disconnect between knowing that the M9 is mechanically powerful and could possibly defeat Trent in a dice-and-stats battle, versus fearing him in a story sense and being convinced he can do almost anything.

Sam, on Luc’s death: “That was brutal, man. Matt Mercer is a-- he hates children! Clearly. He actively sought to kill a child in the campaign in as brutal a way as possible. He hates children and wants them dead. Canon. No, but to RP, that was horrible.” He highlights that so much of Veth’s arc has been about trying to get back to her family. “We had to choose something and we thought we were making the right choice. It was all Veth’s fault, and it was pretty rotten. My heart was beating pretty fast, and I certainly didn’t want to have my son die live on the stream. I don’t know what Veth would have done. That’s the end, that’s over. It’s almost worse than when your own character would die. This is something that would also kill Veth.” After the episode was over: “just shaken. I also didn’t know what to do next! That felt like a turning-point moment for my character, weirdly so close to what we assume to be the end arc of this campaign. I texted Matt later that night and was like, that’s it, Veth’s out, I’m tapping out.”

There’s an interlude in which Sam discovers a new dream to record an episode of this show from his Peloton. Dani informs him that she will not be inviting him back.

On Astrid, Liam: “I literally don’t know what she’s doing. I know that she’s dangerous, she always was ambitious, and there’s not been a moment where Caleb let his guard down with her. He’s not trying to reestablish what they had. He cares for the both of them, for Astrid and Eodwulf. He thinks about it a lot, still. He can’t tell how much she buys into everything that she experienced and is now living as a full-grown adult. He suspects that she’s bought in and is not going to change things, because she believes in the system, as much as he’d like to peel her away. He does believe that they want what’s best for the Empire, and stopping whatever wants to come vomiting out of a hole in the frozen north is good for everyone. And they’re powerful. They’re not trustworthy, obviously. But there’s enough at stake to make it worth it. He could imagine a situation where they fight each other to the death.” He was convinced Astrid was going to stop them when they left the tower and was really shocked when she held back. Sam: “Not me! I’ve trusted Astrid since day one. She’s the greatest! I sent a letter to her, she’s very nice, I think you guys would be a nice couple. I believe every word she says.”

On having to decide on Veth deciding to go off and save the world after Luc’s death. “Like I said, I was ready to be done. And then I decided somewhere in there that that’s not very D&D. So I thought I’d leave it up to somebody else, so I asked Caduceus to decide for me, essentially. She knows she’s putting her other family in danger if she doesn’t go. It’s an impossible choice, you know?” Liam: “I love watching you grapple with it, because you’re a lovely father and love your kids.”

On the Sanatorium, Sam: “That was brutal, man. Matt lulls you into a sense of complacency. We’d forgotten that Caleb was a stone-cold killer! It had been a while since he went on a murder spree. Still got it!” Liam: “I never meant for this character to be perfect sunshine.” Brian: “You don’t say.” Liam: “He’s very not-perfect, and I think in his brain, he was going in with the impression that they needed to get in and get out as soon as possible. The place is crawling with people with magic ability, and I didn’t have faith that we wouldn’t be sussed out or something wasn’t going to blow an illusion.” Everything was about getting out of there as fast as possible.

Did the conversation with Yeza help with Veth’s decision? “First of all, every conversation with Yeza is a beautiful one. Every time she talks to Yeza, it makes her feel good. In some ways, she’s gotten to the point now where she knows Yeza’s going to be supportive, she knows he’s going to allow her to do what she wants, but maybe that’s too much. Maybe she needs to not listen to him, basically, and be like, no, you need to be selfish now, dude, you need to say ‘come home, I’m sick of you leaving’. At a certain point, being supportive can turn into being enabling.”

Cosplay of the Week: Jester in the snow! (liljerbear47, photography by kairiceleste on Instagram)

On Trent’s motivations for chasing Caleb: “I really don’t know. The simplest explanation is to just hammer down the nail that’s sticking up. It has crossed his mind that all high-level wizards are in danger of their own ambition and egos, so it’s occurred to him that Trent might have the same kind of ideas that Halas had in the past, and maybe Caleb was always meant to be another body to jump into. Maybe in some sick, disgusting, twisted way, he wants him to be his successor. I am thinking of the next campaign, without getting too deep in, trying to do something that is much more ride-along. Caleb is very, very specific, and I thought long and hard about all the different pieces on the chessboard for him. For campaign three, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.”

Dani: “Do I need to be keeping lore on your fucking ads?”

On the cursed dagger: “It was a tricky one, because in campaign one, one of the characters was under the influence of a cursed weapon, but it interacted with him and he knew what it was and what it did. And it affected his gameplay as a character. For me, Veth didn’t know what it was, ever. I as a player knew what it was doing, but Veth didn’t know at all. So it was kind of like my dirty, dark secret for many months. I knew this thing was coming perilously close to killing me, but my character didn’t know enough to bring it up to her friends. Nobody ever asked! So I was like, well, I guess this thing’s just going to kill me one day, and it’s kind of going to be a surprise.” Liam: “Sam, you love danger and self-destruction so much, you might as well be Mollymauk.”

On the fight in Yasha’s sequence, Sam: “You gotta put a character in your storm giant creature. It was so fun! It was so great of Matt to involve us in this encounter. It would’ve been fun just to watch, because Matt would have made it amazing and Ashley was sweating bullets, which is always fun to watch.” Sam notes he felt guilty, but Liam was going for the kill. Liam: “Matt’s gotta be careful about giving me that kind of story beat. I do not fucking care, I just fucking flip, I’m like, well, I’m going to destroy you, and I have no qualms about it. It’s too much fun!”

The Beau/Yasha tower date was in part inspired by not being able to give gifts as easily this last year. “This thing that we do together is a gift, but I love finding these moments, like the book for Jester and the tower for Yasha and for Beau. I really just wanted to give both of them a little magic for a night. I wanted them to leave this-- we’re trying to be as entertaining as possible, but shit is having an effect on all of us too, and I wanted them to have an escape, a great place to escape to.”

Fan Art of the Week: an amazing group shot, plus Marion, Yeza, and Luc! (vocaz on Twitter)

On choosing Essek over Trent, Liam: “It would have been so interesting and awful and great! Essek and Astrid and Eodwulf are everything that Bren used to be attracted to that are terrible for him. Essek, hopefully he can with time find a way out of the hole that he dug himself into, but it was only two months ago where he was found out and his ambitions came crashing down around him. Long-term, I have high hopes for him, but I think it’s going to be hard.” In contrast, Astrid and Eodwulf are still “deep in the shit. It would have been really hard to navigate, but fun to play at the table. We made the right choice with what we went with. Essek’s just getting started, and Caleb doesn’t trust him entirely, because he was burned so hard not too long ago. He’s still more trustworthy than the other three. So it’s the better choice. While Caleb has all these ties on the other side, they’re really fucking dangerous. So if you have to choose, you choose Essek. But fuck that die.” Sam: “Veth, much like Sam Riegel, makes instant decisions about whether to trust someone or not and sticks to it forever. Astrid, 100% trust. Eodwulf, 100% distrust. Essek, completely distrust. I still don’t think he’s a good guy. Ikithon? Trust. 100%. Because you know where he’s coming forward, you know what he wants. I still want him dead, but I trust him.”

On Veth’s post-adventuring plans: “Veth is probably still too in it right now to think about what comes next. I, Sam Riegel, have a good idea of what I want Veth to do post-campaign.” Brian: “Maybe you shouldn’t tell us. Save it for the show!” Sam: “All she knows is she can’t do this anymore. It’s very unhealthy to be battle-wounded every other day. It’s fun for a while, but college has to end at some point, and she’s gotta go home.”

On Frumpkin changing appearance and returning to the Feywild: “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but the way it feels now for Caleb is that he feels too enmeshed in everything that has happened, and too much good has happened, and too much needs to happened, that that really narcissistic, selfish goal has the risk of harming everything else, which is more important. And that’s how he looks at it now. So he’s gearing towards letting everything from the beginning of the campaign, and where he started, go, and trying to figure out what use he’s going to be now and what he’s going to do if they’re not all dead. If Matt throws that shit down, I don’t know what I will do, I think about it a lot. But turning Frumpkin white and saying you’re free either way is him preparing to let go of everything he’s been holding on to for a really long time. He’s addicted to that idea that he can fix himself, and we’ll see if that hard choice gets presented, what he might do. But where he stands now, he doesn’t think that’s going to be reality, and he sees a way that he can be of use that he never really anticipated before, so he’s slowly shifting gears towards living with the pain he was trying to remove.”

On the last request scene and confidence heading into Aeor, Sam: “I feel like that’s a good request. I think all of us realized that if we die, that probably bodes badly for the world. I feel like all of us are at a point now as characters and as friends, that the first order of business would be to take care of everybody else’s shit, although we probably have different ideas of how to do that.” Liam: “I want the Empire to be healed, Caleb has all these memories of his parents and what they wanted for the world, and he wants that too. It’s clearly not in place now, the system needs to be broken and replaced. That could be a part of Caleb’s sunset. I don’t want Caleb to die, so maybe he can work on that after. As everything starts to shake out and we start heading towards our destiny, Caleb’s just free-floating. He’s not even going after the same thing he started for. So he’s looking at Veth’s family, and Luc specifically, and seeing that’s me, that’s a little boy in the Empire.”