#animated molly and caleb...just thinking...

[dent-de-leon]

....hmmm....and what if. in animated nein. after Molly's whole "Long may I reign" scene, he stumbles out into the hall laughing and full of joy and runs right into Caleb Widowgast. Caleb, choked up, teary-eyed, and looking as though he's about to have another panic attack, still reeling from the pain of confessing everything.

What if Molly tries to talk to him, even if he wouldn't listen. Ask if he's alright. Try to reach out again. What if he gave him another forehead kiss, or asked if he'd want some company--

Out of everyone in the Nein, Mollymauk is the only one who never learns of Caleb's past--the tragedy that so painfully mirrors Lucien's--but. What if, this time, he gets more of a glimpse of that--

[aspiringsophrosyne]

The latest teaser confirmed it: the Mighty Nein animated series will draw on material that not only predates episode one of the campaign but at least two characters' respective session zeros. The synopsis for the show also highlights what is most likely the Beacon, suggesting it may get significant emphasis early on.

Because of all this, I think it's possible (even likely) that the first season will NOT end with the events of episode 26, which is where I and many other fans figured it would after the initial announcement.

Instead, as a few fans posited, we could see C2E12 and its consequences serving as the season one finale.

When I first saw posters bringing this idea up, I liked how it sounded. It would give the Mighty Nein much more room to breathe than Vox Machina. I didn't want to believe that could happen, though. I didn't want to get my hopes up.

Now, I am getting my hopes up. Just a little.

Because to get to the Iron Shepherds before the end of season one, the CRew has to hustle. They cannot afford to waste time on any extraneous content. Pre-episode-one material is most welcome but it is extraneous to the Mighty Nein's overall story. It is nothing we can't infer from context.

Incorporating this material implies that the pace will be, at the very least, somewhat slower than TLOVM's pacing has been.

Showing how everyone meets means they can dedicate the rest of the season to Trostenwald, the Gnoll Mine, (Shakäste!) various Zadash hijinks, and then the attack. If paced well, that’s enough for 12 episodes, even without moving some later events (Where The River Goes, Harvest Close, the tournament in Whispers of War, etc.) up in the order, which they could do.

But I could be jumping the gun. It could be the CRew makes the mistake of trying to squeeze pre-session-zero content into an otherwise faithful adaptation of a season that ends at C2E26. Or adding that material but slicing out tons of content from the stream to make that work. We don’t know yet. We can’t.

But, again, the allusion to the Beacon makes little sense unless we have some time to sit with it. Not if it’s in the middle of a season racing towards Glory Run. Travis has said here about TLOVM that they had a limited runway and wanted to be off to the races from the jump. But with the Nein, they want to play around more. We could take that in several different ways, but it sounds promising.

We might get a slower burn with TM9 than with VM. If the first season ends around Midnight Espionage, we might not even see Caleb’s or Molly’s backstories until season 2! And that’s exciting; new watchers will have time to get to know these characters, care about them, and mull over who they could be before the bombs drop. And that’ll be fun to watch.

[conceiteddemon]

Im thinking about the M9 and languages. like languages and what is spoken and how it can add so many little extra layers to the story, and how they can be used to show insights into the characters. Cause like

Molly Viciously Mocking someone sounding like hacking up a demonic hairball, undermined by Jester always giggling in the background. Then suddenly Molly is gone and Jester is hugging her mother who is kissing her forehead and switching out from infernal to common every other sentence and the nein realizing that Molly was just telling dick jokes and playground insults in the scariest voice he could manage. Jester canonically writing her journal in infernal (which I hope to see in the series because fiendish hell runes written in a kawaii style compete with hot pink glitter gel is something I think everyone needs).

Nott telling a Halfling in Halfling that she ‘had an accident’, and it seems more likely to be a translation error on her end than the truth. Nott shouting at goblins that ambush the Nein in simple, halting Goblin, especially compared to the sentences they fire back at her. Nott knocking on Edith’s door, suddenly speaking Halfling fluently as she hugs a little boy no one had known about.

Beauregard’s high school level, clumsy Halfling and Dwarvish morphing into her reading undercommon, her understanding Zemnian, her studying books written in several different languages as the series goes on.

Fjord being able to read some orcish phrases but consistently messing up the pronunciation, because he basically taught himself, afraid of getting caught learning it but more scared of getting caught not knowing it.

Caleb’s whole interrogation with the scourger, his conversation with Astrid and the political side conversations, juxtaposed with the soft demeanor when he speaks to himself about his parents and the past in his tower. Him canonically dropping his heavier accent whenever he speaks Zemnian.

Yasha, never speaking Abyssal, only reading and translating it, as opposed to having little conversations in celestial when prompted by Caleb, who wants to brush up on his knowledge.

Caduceus speaking in what sounds like normal ass common to plants and animals. Him chatting amicably with giants, stopping every once in a while to ask if he’s pronouncing a word right.

Essek muttering to himself in undercommon as he studies, teaching everyone a few words to be polite. Getting bullied into sharing more by Beau, who had to learn it somewhere, and he acts like it’s a great inconvenience for about three minutes before getting swept up in the joy of sharing knowledge, of teaching and learning, taking concepts and thoughts and ordering them into something neat, precise, definable.

[mooshlovely]

Nein Again Episode 21

A really juicy episode. We've got one of the first combats to really push their limits and also some tense conversations. Also the whole Bren thing

Fuck guys I love the original cartoon so much. I remember it being longer lol but its still so good. I can't wait for m9 animated. It is also so wild that Sam made it all without the rest of them seeing it, and also sang all of it himself

(24) It's impressive that Calianna hasn't been mugged or killed because she is remarkably trusting. Beyond even the normal amount of 'i need to trust these people in order for the plot to work'

(27) Caleb immediately lowers his opinion of Cali after she says she doesn't like cats lol

(28) Kill bill sirens. God I still can't believe the way this worked out. Nott/Sam freaking out cause she used an actual part of her name and trying to figure out why Caleb is being weird, while Caleb is having a mini breakdown. Like how on earth did the names work out that way. The magic of DnD

(1:07) Lol Beau rolls a nat 20 to notice the danger and then just lets Febron walk right into it

(1:16) and the ball bearings have returned. You know this might be one of the few times they have (kind of) helped and not immediately made things worse. Not that they helped all that much

(1:20) Isn't moving faster just asking for a troll fight? What on earth was the logic here, that they could outrun it like the freaky plant?

(1:34) Caleb kind of drops his face into his hands when Yasha says to put 'Bren' in the middle of the group for safety. I can't even imagine how much the constant Bren mentions would be weighing on him, dragging him directly into the worst part of his past and setting off every instinct he has to hide himself.

(1:38) "Is the traveler another wizard?" Jester: "He kind of is, but he's really powerful, and he's super cool" You know it is kind of on us for thinking he's a god. Cause Jester doesn't really enforce that idea. She's pretty up front about him not really being a god

(1:47) Oh hey the map compass is back.

(1:53) If only Molly had ever learned to hit things with his sword… I understand the temptation of racial spells but also if you aren't built for them, they're a waste of time (spoken from personal experience. i wish the drow faerie fire was more useful)

(1:53) The brief horror that their guide is like dead dead, immediately replaced by asshole-ness "Our money is getting away"

(1:58) I think this is the trickiest and closest combat they've had so far

(2:04) Actually a clutch heal from Jester

(2:12) Am I the only one who doesn't find Talisin's infernal voice that cool? Also he literally makes a comment about it never working - THEN WHY DO YOU KEEPING DOING IT

(2:25) I do love that Beau calls Caleb out on his causal use of manipulation. Like he may truly mean that Beau is a good friend, but also he is also 100% intentionally reminding her of the fact in order to convince her to accompany him and reinforce his place by her side

(2:35) It is funny that everyone has pretty much realized that fear is one of Nott's primary motivators. How do we convince her to do something? Just make it seem like something else is worse lol

(2:48) It is very annoying for me personally, but it is probably a good thing Cali is so naive and easily distracted cause wow the nein are bad at keeping secrets for long periods of time. They manage alright for brief encounters but once they let down their guard, anything goes. A smarter companion would have clocked the weird Nott/Bren thing and the beacon (and probably had opinions on them)

(2:29) Nott: "You're half fish!" Fjord: "I'm not half-fish, I'm half-orc!" Eh he could always be both

(3:54) Fjord: "Yep. . . I drop the rope and jump in" I love when Fjord defies expectations. It's particularly notable because he's normally the most rational and level-headed of the group, so it's always so much more surprising when he suddenly flips on a dime to do something crazy. It's still a totally logical move in his mind, but he is also consciously keeping his patron a secret because he knows the party will have questions that he doesn't want to answer. And he can get away with it because no one would expect it of him. It is interesting that no one even calls him on it afterward

(4:05) Ah I don't think I realized that Caleb saw himself in this situation. The other people in the group are ambivalent to the bowl and it's potential evil: they like Cali therefore she can have the bowl like she asked. Caleb is the only one rn that is looking at the big picture and the potential danger this artifact represents. Why is Caleb the only one concerned with the greater good? Why is it Caleb, who is generally selfish and unwilling to insert himself into conflict? It doesn't make sense unless he sees his own past in this cult

And obviously part of the situation is that the others have slightly less trust issues and are taking Cali at her word, but I am surprised the rest of them don't see his logic

Also relatedly, you can see that Caleb's controlling tendencies. He wants all the cards, wants to control the board, and he will only give out information when it is in his best interests. You can see how he positions the group without telling them why, how he decided a plan of action that he thinks is good and doesn't understand why the others don't agree with him. Caleb definitely thinks he is the smartest person in the room

(4:09) It's actually pretty hypocritical of Beau to call Caleb out for getting in people's business when she is the noisiest of the lot. I'm assuming this is also hitting her trauma and dislike of other people making decisions for her. Tbh I think she has a right to be mad but I think she is accusing him of the wrong things

(4:10) Molly: "You were right, Caleb! You're just a shitty communicator" Yeah that about sums it up

[anonym-potato]

Nein Again - 2x21 "Stalker in the Swamp"

Hello again! Last we left off, the Nein arrived in a miserable town built in a puddle to do some crime that I've almost entirely forgotten about. I'm sure absolutely nothing dramatic or controversial will happen in this episode.

I rate this Sam Riegel DnD Beyond ad a 50/10 FUCK YEAH. Also don't worry Sam I don't know how to pronounce Mordenkainen either.

Awwwww, the little Kiri cuddle pile

Hello Mark/Mara Hulmes congratulations on all the gender you've gotten since this episode was filmed.

I am once again sad we never got to learn more about Molly's relationship with religion

Oh yeah this is the Bren Face Episode

Beau's anger at the group currently consisting of nine people is again, very funny

Cali and Caleb talking magic shop is really fun

Kiri on Jester's shoulders oh my god

I can never decide how I feel about Witch Bolt as a spell.

"Super inviting! Just all the tendons!" - Travis Willingham

God this lair is creepy

I think this is the only time Caleb cast Suggestion which does make sense

Question for the monsterfuckers of the internet: does Calianna count? I'm curious now and I don't know if you have some kind of taxonomy

WOW Fjord has no idea how to deal with a small child I hope if he and Jester have kids he takes some classes first.

Oooh, I love it when the monsters are smart I need to work on that in my own DMing.

The troll jumpscare is some peak Yes And

Oh yeah I always forget Beau Very Nearly Died in this fight

For some reason the way Hulmes pronounces "Yasha" is extremely funny to me

They should give Beau a bo that turns into a bow. Like Hawkeye had the one time.

Calianna x Jester should have more fic I'm gonna seek some out after this episode

The Myriad's (I assumed it's the Myriad) neck tattoo ranking system is cool as hell

Murderous fishmen, murderous fishmen...

It's still total bullshit that cats don't have Darkvision RAW

Is Uk'otoa eating the merman some kind of complicated filicide?

I think the Mariner's Armor should puff up and turn orange when submerged

I love that Enlarge seems to have made Beau more southern

I have a strange fondness for Acid damage, probably because it's so hard for players to get their hands on. There are surprisingly few spells that let you use it.

Kiri with the dagger is so cute

Matt you maybe laid on the Chained Oblivion-shadowing a little heavy with all these manacles

Is Beau flirting with Cali about the 'cute things' or interrogating her? I'm not sure.

I can't wait for the inevitable Bowlgate Joke in the animated series

Hulmes did such an elegant job writing Cali's backstory. It touches on so many common points with the regular members of the Nein. A+ work.

WEIRD SHIT REPORT: Calianna has given Nott a Scroll of Invisibility, to be entrusted to Caleb

In Conclusion: Summer is long and I am busy

[tiny-vermin]

I want to know more about the m9 artist au!! I remember reading a post or two about it a billion years ago (and would love to read them again) 💜

hi jess!!!! thank u for being interested hehe :")

so ever since i drew that lil thing of essek painting a frank stella inspired painting (or even before), ive been thinking of what kinds of art each of the m9 would do. essek ofc is inspired by a minimalist show that i went to here, all the big names from that movement were shown, but those really dark, sinkhole-like paintings are speaking to me. another artwork of boxes made of mirrors also seems like the thing he would do too

there's a kiln here that we visited which was huge, and surrounding it were artists' studios and some other ceramic sellers, i imagine the clay family having a place like this in the middle of nowhere amongst the trees, and caleb would do his work there

anyways because at heart im a shadowgast luver its centred around them,, they meet at an artist residency or something like that and its an incredibly slow burn that involves talking and not-talking and looking and not-looking. in the end i am but a simple wong kar wai fan so. that kinda vibes would definitely influence this, i would describe it as a quiet burning i guess?? time skipy and words that are not said

i think im gonna rant a bit more about their different mediums and styles so i'll keep it under the cut

i think caleb sculpts figures and portraits, but in a sad, kathe kollwitz charcoal vibe. maybe some funky looking animals, perhaps some pots and vases to look at the pretty glazes. he's interested in using fire to burn texture into different mediums, like ive seen it being used on shellac to make a really cool net of ink looking structure.. but yknow, just seeing the aftermath of glazed ceramic from the kiln is enough, and probably better for him to keep his distance anyways

the clay family produces most of the ceramic to sell, vases, pots, plates, cups, teapots, yknow just a whole array. and its really colourful too, depicting every family members different style. i think caduceus would do some matte glazes with a lot of different colours, theyre all a little wonky but theyre better off that way anyways. he does some really mean ink calligraphy and painting though

jester definitely does,, everything, whatever her heart desires kinda thang. she makes pastel textile installations and lighthearted cute paintings, but theyre always so contemplative and soothing. she gets m9 a lot of work cus her mom has connections, etc etc. i really love the idea of jester creating works that talk about the female body and femininity (definitely not projecting no)

beau is a printmaker and photographer who's really experimental, she loves cyanotypes and printing flowers (for yasha), idk she seems like she would put fabric and rocks into the washing machine to see what would happen. u would probably catch her in someone elses studio learning about what they do or in the library learning about what old people did

veth works in a museum as a curator, getting beau to help her sometimes with gathering artworks and artists etc. she probably organises community art projects for kids and public art installations. her house is full of m9's artworks and various other artists shes worked with.

yasha does bouquets as her post-retirement part time job, prior to that no one really knows what she did ("she probably murdered a bunch of people and is now hiding from the government"). fjord draws comics for fun but is also not a job for him, molly is a question mark for me. but these guys probably wont be in it as much anyways

im still not sure what format i wanna do this in, im actually having fun just writing it in my notebook now (digital does not facilitate the creative juices) but i do want to do some visuals like fake movie stills or storyboards. maybe they will work together well???? dunno. working on the other shadowgasty thing im doing made me realise how much easier it is to draw when there's a script already there, so im writing the script for myself

im definitely not as practiced in writing as i am in drawing, but idk im just gonna have some fun and see where that takes me, meanwhile try not to feel too bad that its fanart HAHA (very bad habit)

edit: i just saw my previous thoughts on beau being an art journalist, but i kinda like this better.. but maybe she can do both muah

[sheepintheastralsea]

gnawing at the bars of my enclosure rewatching the sketch clip of animated m9.... ghasdghd that's presumably how they introduce fjord (and probably jester), so where do we think we meet the others???

im gonna guess we meet caleb and nott together, perhaps in prison where they met for the first time, and seeing them work together to escape? seems to fit the timeline and vibe of the fjord and jester meet

do we think then, following that logic, we meet yasha and molly when they meet for the first time, and yasha joins the circus? idk. I kind of think it would work best to either not meet them until trostenwald, just like we did in the campaign, OR to have a vague and confusing scene of molly waking up in the grave that he just doesn't elaborate on... i think that could be fun... and perhaps seeing yasha fleeing her tribe, but not showing why she's running... idk this is a ramble

but BEAU. how are they gonna introduce her??? do we think we'll see the fight with the snake thing she joined fjord and jester in? or do we think we'll see her earlier, in a monastery?

UGH I'M. JUST SO EXCITED.

[rainbowcaleb]

FICLET FRIDAY : Tan lines

Prompt: tan lines | Characters: Caleb, Molly, Fjord - gen. | Rating: G | Word Count: 563

“No, don’t.” Caleb holds a solitary finger up in Molly’s face. It does nothing to stop their glee.

“What happened to you and how do I join the fun?” Their smile glints as much as their eyes.

Caleb sighs and lowers the finger that did nothing. “Don’t ask, please.” His hands move to awkwardly cover his chest as he crosses his arms. 

“Aw, don’t cover that up, it’s art! Whose art though…” Molly pushes at his arms and Caleb lets him. They lean in far closer than necessary to whisper. “Who did this to you, darling?”

Caleb breaks his semi-serious facade at that, bursting into a laugh. “Just don’t touch, it’s a bit tender.” With his arms unfolded his chest is now on full display, including the extremely clear sunburn lines that spell out a three letter word. 

“Did someone already rub some aloe on you, or do you need a hand or two with that?” Molly wiggles their fingers.

“Ah, I think we are beyond aloe’s help, mein Freund.” Caleb looks at the ‘hot’ spelled on his chest with a laughed sigh. 

“Jester.” Molly nods sagely. “She removed your sun lotion?”

“I feel asleep.” Caleb shrugs. 

“Oh, it’s practically your fault then!” Molly laughs. “At least it’s a compliment.”

Caleb raises an eyebrow. “I fear Jester’s touch against an enemy. She’d probably spell-“

“Dick”. They both answer in unison. 

Caleb taps his nose. “Exactly. Or just the drawing if time is too short.”

Molly leans back, taking in the whole of Caleb, swim trunks, sunburn, flip flops and all. 

“You should leave it for a bit before you heal it away. It’s speaking the truth after all.” They wink. 

“Are you saying perhaps there is room for two hot bois this summer?”

Molly fakes a loud gasp. “Don’t let Essek catch you saying that! He’s precious with that title of his.”

“Everything good?” Fjord wanders over, drawn in by the animated noise of Molly. He notices Caleb’s chest and grins. “Ah, she got you too?”

This time the gasp is real and delighted.”What do you mean ‘too’?” 

Fjord lifts the hem of his tropical print shirt until the majority of his stomach and lower chest are showing. 

“I feel like I should pay you a coin for that.” Molly hands out another wink. 

“She branded you ‘hot’ as well? It seems we are all initiated into a club we did not know we joined.” Caleb is smiling, then his face grows pensive. “I wonder…”

Fjord drops the shirt hem before Molly could get their hands on his chest. “No titty slapping the sunburn.”

“You’re no fun. Caleb, you have a hold person handy?” Molly notices his absent stare. “Thinking something wizardly?”

“No, no. But I am thinking this may not be Jester.” 

“Who else?” Fjord asks. “She did call this the ‘hot people beach party’ in the messages.”

“But would Jester write ‘hot’ on both of us? With such finite time? Would she spell a word repeatedly when the opportunity to draw a dick is right there?”

Fjord's eyes widen. “I hope it’s one of the Nein, it feels like a violation if it's some passing stranger.”

“No worries Fjord, I believe I have guessed the culprit, although she may not want to own up if we point fingers.”

“Revenge then?” Molly suggests. 

“Of the nice kind, if we could.” Caleb grins. 

[simplysparrow14]

I’d love to hear about all your writing, but you know me: the one titled “We are not always what we seem, and hardly ever what we dream” immediately piqued interest 👀

ahhh Thank You!!

This fic is mainly inspired by Snow White, more importantly, just the themes of Snow White in general. The notion of friendship and friend-groups, dreaming of love, finding a home that accepts you as you are, regardless of circumstance just really spoke to me.

The entire premise is that Caleb, after years of abuse from Trent in the Soltryce academy, finally gets the courage to escape. He leaves behind Astrid and Eadwulf in his desperate flight and traverses Wildmount, never stopping because of the fear that Trent and the rest of Academy are hot on his trail. He tries his best to steer clear of towns and large cities, and in the process becomes a street-rat, scrounging for food in trash bins and waste disposal carts, even going so far as to threaten normal, unwilling people on the roads, demanding their food (he still regrets the one couple he robbed on the highways; it had been snowing and so very cold, and Caleb had been so hungry. They looked rich. They sounded of money. Calling forth his magic, he threatened the wife with fire. The husband had been fast, and in his fear, Caleb burned him. He ran into the night with their wallet, the cries of anguish still in his ears, and he's sorry, so very sorry...)

In the daylight, Caleb is nothing more than a wandering miscreant, But at night, he is a dutiful student, practicing his charms and cantrips. It puts him at ease knowing that, at the end of the day, after his escape, he still has something to call his own.

Eventualy, Caleb comes across The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival. In this version, the entire M9 are circus performs (Yasha as a strongman, Jester as a general clown/magicians assistant, Veth and Beau as part of a 2-person acrobat show, Fjord as a swordsmaster.) In this version, Caleb is brought into the group by Molly (insert Muppet charismas carol "Who did NOT die") to be the circus' newest magician. It does take a few weeks for Caleb to be comfortable with everyone but the days that follow are some of the warmest and happiest that he's had in a long, long time.

Caleb is instantly loved by the small children (and by jester) who adores his intricate magic. He makes glowing animals and trinkets out of thin air and during one particularly rowdy show, he turns his magic toward Jester, creating for her the pink horses and lollipops she loves dearly. Jester is instantly smitten with him, charmed by his quiet stance, his intense eyes. He's nothing like the magicians who called the circus home. He's nothing like her, who delights in tricks but scoffs at gifting (she's still learning). Each piece of magic that he crafts for the children is special and unique, thoughtful in a way that none of the other's had been before.

Admittedly, Caleb also becomes smitten with Jester. In the after hours of the shows, she's the first to greet him in his rooms. She sits with him, marveling at the amount of books and tomes he's managed to fit within the small space. At every opportunity, she's smiling at him, and the way his heart flutters at the sight is nothing short of electric. He likes everything about her, including her super scuffy slightly-dead looking ferret who somehow survives She's nothing like Astrid and certainly nothing like the other people he's had clandesdine crushes on. She's a dream made real to him and he's more than willing to waste his magic on simple circus tricks if it means

Eventually, things between Jester and Caleb start happening. She and Caleb start preforming acts together (think a very Zendeya/Zack Efron "Rewrite the Stars" moment) delighting the crowd with their grand shows. Caleb, for the first time in his life, feels appreciated and loved, and most of all safe.

However, all of it comes crashing down when Astrid and Eadwulf arrive one day, along with Trent, who's disguised himself as a simple old man. Releaved that his is alive, Astrid and Eadwulf beg him to return, that Trent, in the event of Caleb's escape, has changed his ways. However, when the two are far from ear-shot, Trent returns to his absuive and manipulative ways. He's been at the circus before, watching Caleb from a distace, and has noticed how he looks at the pretty little tieflight clown.

With whisperd words, Trent preforms the same spell that he used on Caleb to destroyed his parents, twisting his memories. Trent then gives Caleb a peice of food (I cant decide on either a powerderd donut or a cupcake) to give to Jester. As Jester is about eat the food, Caleb snaps out of it just in time to wresle Jester for it, and in his haste to get it away from her, Caleb takes the plunge and eats it. The poison within the food actives and Caleb falls into a death like sleep.

That's about as far as I got with the outline. Obviously it'll end with a Trent vs M9 fight, Jester kissing Caleb awake and a happy, perfect ending.

[blorbologist]

Hello yes I would like to know more about your Fullmetal Alchemist AU because that was amazing. The Ashari doing alkahestry, *chef's kiss*. Delilah as Envy, genius move. Saundor as Lust, perfect casting is perfect.

Vex with the title of Sewing Life Alchemist, much better person than the original holder of the title. And that Truth took part of her heart, oh that's good.

!! Thank you so much! I love this AU but it has so many moving parts it's hard even for me to juggle them sometimes pfft.

God there's so much to talk about uhhhh:

It's a super complicated AU in part because I'm including Campaign 1 PCs as the older cast (Vex, Vax, Percy, Pike and Grog are all in the military, Keyleth gets a bit of Scar and Mei's roles, Tary is Somewhere) and the Campaign 2 PCs as the younger (Beau and Caleb fill the role of the Elrics, Jester is probably Winry-ish with some Mei elements, Veth is a chimera, idk what Fjord is up to, Yasha is likely Ishvalan, Essek gets to be Ling <3, idk what I'm gonna do to Molly and Kingsley. Probably terrible things. He might be Hoenheim/Father/idk. Maybe he'd fit better as Ling then Greed but I Like Essek Best Ok). Which is complex enough on its own (I can get conflict between the kids and their military babysitters with Beau and Percy butting heads), but what makes it extra dicey is the homunculi. I want to try and ensure that the main villains have a good balance between CR1 ones and CR2's, but whereas many of VM's antagonists are connected (Vecna/Sylas/Delilah/kiiinda Ripley, all the Conclave), the M9's are very disperse - and with all these enemies it's hard to unite them under one goal. Do I include the Conclave? What about the Iron Shepherds? Lucien's group? Avantika? So for the oneshot I just said fuck it and narrowed in on the most Perc'ahlia relevant information (and had Keyleth there instead of Jester, to stick to the C1 cast).

I've shuffled around a lot of the alchemical signatures of several characters due to what fits and what doesn't - for instance, though Vex neatly fills a lot of Roy's role, she is never associated with fire. Caleb, however, is, so the Ed-equivalent gets to be the Flame Alchemist. As a Ranger, Vex is very difficult to make fit into the State Alchemist system, so I made her role more research-focused (while still keeping with the terrible guilt and shame that Roy has that I think fits Vex nicely as well). As the Sewing Life Alchemist, she can be a more successful Shou Tucker: I figure she stumbled on Trinket (an early state-made chimera), tried to learn how to fix him, and so ended up roped into that research division to keep her from blabbing. A lot of her research focused on healing and accelerating growth, and she has a knack for using every ounce of power offered by Equivalent Exchange; as a result it was easy enough to slot her in with the team creating viable human-animal chimeras - the people who originally fucked up Trinket. By that point, it's too late to get out. So she has a lot of Guilt <3 Elaina died either to plague (like Trisha Elric) or got burnt in one of those staged conflicts to get souls/blood for the nation-wide array. Vax gets to snipe up bits of Hughes, Havoc and Nina's roles in the story: I'm unsure of if he's been used to keep Vex in line before, but he certainly gets fucked up by Lust. I'm unsure if the military then steal him away and turn him into a chimera, or if Vex is forced to do that to her own brother to keep him alive. I really want to include some thematic nod to 'take me instead you raven bitch', though, so. Help?

Nixing the up-and-coming Colonel being the Flame Alchemist also impacts Percy's role: I knew I wanted him to be tattooed with secrets like Riza (if you cant tell from Get your hands dirty, I love the concept), but without Flame Alchemy, what could be worth hiding? After some fanangling, I decided that the de Rolos have a decent lineage of military service, especially as State Alchemists, and though Percy never showed the knack for the magic aspect he grasps the theory very well (and instead tinkered with guns). So, as the spare, he offered to get the family's research tattooed on his back. Least he could do - until the estate was swarmed and everyone was killed by some fuckers and Percy was tortured for the code to the notes on his back. Envy (Dewiwah) and Dr.Ripley were behind most of it, with Delilah taking on the faces of people Percy knew both to get her foot in the castle and to torment him. He joined the military in an attempt to protect himself, only to slowly start figuring out that they were the ones who ordered the hit, at which point he stages a lab accident and has Vex heal his back juuust enough to maintain functionality but otherwise ensuring it scars. I'm suspecting the secret was either that his family stumbled on the nation-wide array or something that put Father's plan in huge hot water. Cass is probably a hostage-ward of the Briarwoods and might not know Delilah is responsible for anything given her changing face :D

[autumnslance]

This is a very silly ask (and feel free to ignore it completely), but do you think any of your OCs would be friends with characters from other franchises? (Fun fact, this was inspired by a piece of fanart that made me believe that Thancred and Leon Kennedy of Resident Evil fame would absolutely be friends. Or at least drinking buddies.)

Hrm, I don't often think in terms of crossovers and mashups anymore--which is funny, as one of my earliest online RP experiences was a multiverse setting where OCs from any and all settings--franchise, gaming, original, etc--could co-exist. Normal mortals teaming up with demigods from novel series and mega-damage users from RIFTS and an array of fantasy and sci-fi and horror characters in between.

I sometimes think about how my OCs in various settings would interact together; how my WoW OCs would get along, or not, with the FF14 crew, or the FF14 OCs with my D&D characters. I tend to lean into certain archetypes (bards and paladins/clerics/priests are favorites), so there'd be some overlap and things in common, and also some frustrations at similarities that grate and clash.

So I don't think too much about how they'd interact with canon figures from other settings, but any OCs I'd have in that realm instead.

Well, the adventuring parties of Actual Play shows like Critical Role (and its animated series spinoffs) is pretty easy; Vox Machina, the Mighty Nein, and Bells Hells are all as chaotic and as helpful as adventurers tend to be, for good or bad. So there'd be eye rolling and irritation, but also understanding and diving in alongside, forming friendships with the weirdos cuz well, adventurers are Like That. They're RP characters too though so might be cheating, or at least easier to figure out for me.

Vax has that sort of noble rogue energy that'd make Aeryn fond of him, while Vex would initially drive her up a wall until they reached an understanding. Scanlan's annoy the heck out of her until they got to sit down and talk for real and she saw under the vulgar exterior. Percy'd be tolerated as Insufferable Noble Trying Too Hard. She'd be patient with Grog and enjoy his overlarge childish glee at everything. And who doesn't love Pike? Literal angel with a chaotic bent herself, she adds a bit of calm when not engaging in sibling shenanigans with Grog. I think Aeryn'd relate most to Keyleth, funnily, and they'd get along decently. Tary, too, would get a lot of sympathy concerning expectations, and also nerding around with his crafts, and may make dealing with Percy a tad easier.

Of the Nein, Caduceus is a spot of calm, aroace energy. Not as right as he thinks he is about many things, but he means well and tries, and that counts for a lot. Aeryn'd have tea with him any day. She'd also be drawn to Beau's bravado and brashness and they'd get into trouble together. Same with Fjord and Caleb, really; there's a level of familiarity in how they approach things with 'let's poke it and see what happens' but also the care they have for others in general. Same with Yasha. Jester's a bright light ball of energy and oh gods her and C'oretta in the same space would be exhausting. Nott/Veth is a bit more complicated; probably depends on when in the campaign, is it before or after Veth's reunited with her family, as she undergoes a shift emotionally once she has her original self back as well as her husband and son. Molly would aggravate and charm Aeryn by turns; Kingsley she'd be sympathetic to and understand too well that living in another's shadow aspect. Essek is fine; he's a wizard to talk shop with, learn from, mess around with spellwork. Luc is a brat also in the shadow of his accomplished mom and adventuring family, and needs mentoring and guidance and a lot of patience oh gosh.

A lot of the Hells would honestly be irritating, especially Imogen's propensity to just use telepathy intrusively; girl needs a lesson in why you don't want to poke around uninvited or casually to get your answers, and a WoL's head is wilder than most. FCG needs mentoring and guidance like whoa. Fearne's also an agent of energetic chaos; fun in doses. Laudna's not so scary, very sweet and fun and sad and likely needs help she doesn't know how to ask for. Ashton's grating in his arrogance and rebelliousness for rebellion's sake (though that may shift given recent things...). Chetney's surface attitude would be annoying, but soon enough he'd be a safe and calming point, given his perceptions. Orym's also just calming and reasonable; maybe a little too much sometimes, and needs to be reminded to cut loose now and then, it's good for you (and your friends).

Dark rolls with it all; she's very easy to get along with. Iyna wouldn't be able to stand most of them. C'oretta would get along well with most everyone but lord her and Jester and/or Fearne in the same place...Terrifying!

That's one off the top of my head, after a long holiday weekend thinking about it off and on, anyway!

[elliesgaymachete]

yasha for character ask!

favorite thing about them - the duality of her. The fact that she can be so soft and kind, but also very fiercely protective.

least favorite thing about them - absolutely nothing she’s perfect

favorite line - “what’s assault?”

brOTP - oof this is a tough one I absolutely love her relationships with all the m9 🥺 jester brings out a fun and talkative side of her, and she and fjord are such an underrated but chaotic duo and her history with molly but her acceptance of caduceus and how he becomes a sense of comfort for her and caleb’s overwhelming support for her and her sweet yet silly moments with nott 😭 i literally cannot decide

OTP - beauyasha 🥺

nOTP - yasha and any man bc she’s a lesbian

random headcanon - i think Yasha just adopts a lot of random various stray animals and beau just comes home to more creatures living with them and she just shrugs cause her wife is cute

song i associate with them - soft to be strong by MARINA

favorite picture of them - i love yasha with white hair like this 🥺 https://www.tumblr.com/shadydruid/728922540725190656/yashas-here

Thanks stevie!!!

[mollywauk]

MIGHTY NEIN ANIMATED SERIES PREDICTIONS AND SCREAMING (I'm inconsolable right now bear with me)

First season will end when Molly does, so we'll get that whole arc and maybe the rescue with Caduceus as well? But perhaps a cliffhanger ending

Beau & Keg!

Yasha alone quests may be more fleshed out like with Pike?

KIRI

SHAKASTE?

The "he's my boy" Nott speech and the Caleb vs Everyone tension of the first arc? Delicious

I didn't think we would reach Essek in the first season because he makes his appearance later in the campaign BUT he was in the trailer so maybe he will be incorporated earlier?

MATTHEW MERCER WILL VOICE ESSEK (please please please)

Animated Jester Sendings! I want to see the looks on their faces when she asks if they're pooping

Also hidden dicks on every frame that jester is in? Not even her necessarily drawing them but like little easter eggs if you pause at the right moment

Actually I do think it would be Funny if Caleb and Beau are having their angsty conversations and there's just a little Jester in the background drawing a dick

Fjord's dreams in animation are going to be INSANE I can't wait

I feel bad already for whoever has to animate Molly's coat but I will be screaming, crying and throwing up when I see it for the first time

The opening tavern scene animated has been my one hope and wish since the moment I watched the first episode and I probably will cry when I see it again

Caleb mudwizard Widogast with his bread hands

Caleb unresolved trauma Widogast lighting up their enemies and then going catatonic

(are we going to get Percy style flashbacks of his time under Ickythong? 👀)

The forehead kiss Molly and Caleb that will later re-ermege in the forehead kiss Caleb and Essek (in a later season)

We're gonna get Dope Monk Shit ANIMATED I could cry, Beau is peak character design and Marisha is peak storytelling with her fight scenes, they're gonna be so good

NOTT THE BRAVE! NOTT THE BRAVE! NOTT THE BRAVE!

Nott trying to steal the reccomendation letter from Fjord and being caught by Molly is one of my favourite scenes from Cr2 I'm going feral

I just remembered that it'll likely end with Molly and now I'm scared, that's going to be heartbreaking when animated, I got choked up the first time I saw his coat swinging in the wind in the animated intro

I just have a lot of feelings about this announcement if you couldn't already tell

I'm being so normal about this

[anonym-potato]

Nein Again - 2xNEIN "Steam and Conversation"

According to the official Crit Recap Animated Designations, which no one could possibly argue with, we have entered Arc 2 of 9 of this story! Last we left off, the Nein finally arrived at their road trip destination, and met the greatest NPC in the history of Dungeons and Dragons. Spoilers ahoy!

I rate this Sam Riegel DnD Beyond ad a 2/10 MY EARS.

Sam's distress at springing forward for DST is extremely relatable. I still don't think I've recovered

Truly, the Big No is an S-tier name for an adventuring party

I love that Caleb immediately intuits to do Crime about Jester's casual card game

Claudia Sheed! You are secretly a Drow according to the wrap up so I'm very interested in you.

Beau's rich-girl obliviousness/personal offense that people don't learn history is. So good.

Thus begins Fjord's long and surprisingly fruitful mission of teaching Beau how to seem nice, god this is such a mood

I do think it's telling that even relatively ordinary cranberries dissidents have beef with the Assembly. Nobody likes those guys.

Nott accidentally tripping backwards over Caleb's PTSD trigger

Molly's philosophy on who is and is not appropriate to steal from is really interesting

I love Jester's Tijuana Bibles

Nott is so personally offended they don't get credit for kicking the Gnoll's asses

"Families Missing in Nogvurot" - for those of us playing the home game that's probably kids with Kryn souls cause Beacon (the exact timeline of when Essek stole them is a little murky, they definitely didn't have the one they found yet)

Oh yeah Caleb can't do accents

"You want an anonymous reputation?" AND THEY'LL GET ONE TOO.

Why is there an Australian man in the middle of the empire. Matthew please who is this blacksmith I want to know everything about him.

Is...is this where Nott's love of buttons began? I can't remember it coming up before.

The Texan Nott bit is somehow funnier with the knowledge that Fjord isn't fantasy Texan. Did Vandren spit everywhere?

I really hope a scene like this makes it into the show. I wanna force the Titmouse animators to come up with 7 different ways to censor nipples and bits

Also the fact Yasha keeps her sword in the hot tub is. The greatest thing in this episode.

Should we, as the fandom, have a collective watch of Blindspot after this? I vaguely remember watching the first two episodes was it any good?

Beau really wants to know what Caleb's deal is give it a week girl

This swimming lesson must've been great pre-practice for Travis

And I love that Nott's backstory is so obvious in hindsight but so unintuitive in the moment because who would guess that?

Poor Jester. "If I stand next to him naked for long enough he will succumb to my feminine wiles!"

According to the good folks at Crit Role Stats it's been 9 days since the group first met which is hilarious

NO IT'S THE FUCKING FRUMPKIN KICKER

Wait another Australian MATT IS THE EMPIRE AUSTRALIAN TOO.

The early Traveler voice is so uncanny oh I hate it

Boy these guards must be really highly paid

I really like the money fight. It's such a good bit of early game party conflict.

"The trick is to just not expect anything in life" I love you Yasha

In conclusion: I too wish there was a three episode mini-arc heist to get into the porn shop.

[gaygoetia]

Magical Shorthand in the Legend of Vox Machina

So I've been drafting a lot of posts about the just-announced Mighty Nein animated series (thoughts, hopes, predictions etc), one of which is about magic and how it will be represented. This led me into a tangent about TLOVM that's long enough that I think it works better as it's own post so here it is!

What magic looks like in TLOVM

One of the things I LOVE about the spellcasting in TLOVM is how each character's spells are visually distinct, usually through colour coding.

In addition to looking great, this visual shorthand makes it easy to identify who's casting what in magic-heavy fight scenes, with the added bonus of representing something of that character's personality.

Scanlan

Scanlan is the most obvious example because it's the most visually distinctive and cohesive.

The visual manifestation of Scanlan's magic is ALWAYS purple - a specific pinkish shade of it.

It's always shiny or sparkly and usually takes the form of a giant semi-translucent body part (usually a hand)

When it manifests in a different form (i.e not a distinct shape) it's usually lightning shaped ribbons or sparks but sometimes an intense purple glow or sparkly purple cloud.

Like Scanlan himself, his magic is colourful, flashy and dramatic and he uses it in creative and unusual ways.

Pike

Pike's magic manifests in a few different ways but it always appears as yellow, and ranges from a soft glow to a bright light.

One of her most commonly used abilities is to create a magical shield which glows softly and sparks upon impact. It's semi-translucent like Scanlan's hand but doesn't move or change shape (though it can change size!)

Certain abilities cause her eyes or hands to glow yellow and of course her astral self glows yellow all over.

Her magic is pretty straightforward. If the spell affects or relates to another object it causes it to glow and offensive spells resemble targeted beams of light that shoot out directly from her hands.

Keyleth

Keyleth's magic is by far the most diverse in the series and her magic reflects that.

Her signature spells/abilities are wildshape and whatever she uses to create and control vines. In both cases, these abilities happen without any kind of magical glow around them and therefore aren't colour-coded in the same way as other spells.

Spells that do involve light and colour usually reflect the element or school of magic associated with them and I think it was the right choice because it makes it easier to identify what she's doing. If the spell daylight, for example, was any other colour it wouldn't be so obvious what it's doing.

All that said, a handful of Keyleth's spells ARE colour-coded, meaning that her hands, eyes, staff or a combination of the three glow green when they're cast. Her hands always glow green when she uses touch-based spells but it also happens at other random points with no particular pattern I can identify (for example her hands sometimes glow when she controls vines but at other times they don't)

And of course it's not just the main characters! Delilah's magic resembles jagged black shapes with an eerie purple outline. Zahra's magic is red and ripples outwards.

So what could magic look like in the Mighty Nein animated series?

Well, given her canonically pink spiritual weapon and spiritual guardians, I think it's safe to say Jester's magic will have a pink theme - though probably a warmer hot pink than Scanlan's pink-purple.

The one exception to this I think would be her cold-themed version of hellish rebuke which will likely be in white or blue to represent the element it's associated with.

Caduceus is also somewhat pink-themed but I imagine his magic might have a turquoise-green colour theme to match his armour.

Molly/Lucien's magic will be red themed for sure in classic blood-magic form.

I'm really not sure about Fjord but his spells might potentially have a blue theme given his affinity to the sea. They might also be a generic white or vary depending on the spell.

For Caleb I definitely think they'll take the same approach as Keyleth wherein his spells appearances are more determined by what they do than who's casting them. However I think if his magic is colour-coded (maybe just for touch-spells like Keyleth) it will be an amber colour somewhere between yellow and orange.

Dunamancy is usually depicted as black and purple so I'm curious to see how they'll distinguish it from Delilah's necromantic magic. I can imagine them maybe doing something black with lots of tiny stars, like a glimpse into space, which would look very cool and also feel appropriate.

What do y'all think?

I would truly love to hear other people's thoughts on this!!

[justalittlebluetiefling]

What are your hopes for the animation of the mighty nein

Listen, I am sorry for what this answer has become.

If you mean what am I looking forward to in general? Fjord, hot. Jester, amazing. Essek, also hot. Veth, agent of chaos. Early Fjorester flirting that Fjord doesn't understand is flirting. Early Beauyasha that is just Beau being thirsty af. Dunamancy ANIMATED. Polymorph shenanigans. ORLY. Pirates. Jellyfish talk. Fjord kissing Jester on the cheek and her malfunctioning (which they would HAVE to leave in, I mean COME ON). Yasha slowly falling for Beau. Beau slowly falling for Yasha. Fjord slowly falling for Jester. Jester's feelings for Fjord evolving into something real and beautiful. Veth pining for Caleb, but being so happy to see her husband and son again. THE RUBY OF THE SEA. Jester's reaction to the Gentleman when they first meet him because Laura was sick during that episode and we didn't get it in campaign. Fjord giving up his powers. The confrontation between Caleb, Fjord, and Nott at the High Richter's house.

LISTEN I COULD GO ON I WANT IT ALL.

If you mean season one, here is what I hope happens in the season. And I would like to say that this is me shooting for the moon, not necessarily what will realistically happen.

I would like an episode of intros. Show me the groups arriving and setting up and then meeting at the inn in Trostenwald and going to the carnival together and the whole fucking carnival show. That's my ideal episode 1.

Then, we get the carnival fight and everyone getting arrested

An episode for the investigation and finding the island

An episode for fighting Kylre and clearing their names and Beau seeing Cobalt Soul people

Travel hijinks aka just them arriving in Alfield and jumping in to help, then going into the mines and SHAKASTE (two episodes here)

More travel hijinks because if you think they'll skip the syphillis bandits something is wrong with you. But also Zadash arrival and running into Yasha again.

We've got to see the Crownsguard job and rescue the guy to get the Gentleman hint.

Also, meeting the Knights of Requital and going to do that job.

Then they have to break into the houses and the finale ideally for me would be them blowing up the High Richter's house, them running away, and then seeing the tower explode. And that would be where the season would cut.

Honestly, I don't think they need to condense much. I like the idea of seeing the growing pains here and watching them figure out how to interact with each other as a group and some awkwardness.

NOW. Do you mean WHAT DO I WANT FROM THE WHOLE THING?! I want eight seasons. I have a summary.

Season two:

Getting the beacon

Meet the Gentleman and accept the jobs

The Labenda Swamp stuff/Kiri/Hupperdook

First Lorenzo fight/Molly death

Rescuing the friends

Finale would be Molly's funeral and Yasha leaving again

Season three:

Finish up the Zadash contracts and totally cut out the two weeks of downtime, just head straight to Nicodranas

Meet up with Yasha again, Nicodranas adventures, stealing a boat.

Pirate adventures all season. Avantikaaaaaaa.

I want the Happy Fun Ball to be included please.

Finale is the second Uk'otoa temple

Season four:

Back on land, head to Felderwin

Xhorhas (essek essek essek essek)

Asarius and the rifts, then giving up the beacon early/mid-season

Fjord/Uk'otoa power struggles

BAZZOXAN

Finale is Yasha getting stolen by Obann

Season five:

Fjord giving up his powers!

Reani!

Fjord and the Wildmother become buddies

Rescue Yussa from the Happy Fun Ball

The Permaheart!

Tbh the Happy Fun Ball could be half of this season and I wouldn't complain.

Then getting Yasha back and killing Obann!

Season six:

Rexxentrum to start the ball rolling on peace talks

Xhorhas to talk about the peace talks

Isharnai

White Dawn Lagoon

Essek reveal

Uk'otoa attack

Finally the finale is the actual peace talks and continuing on or arriving at Rumblecusp

Season seven:

I would also be cool with s6 finale being the Uk'otoa attack on the even of the peace talks and s7 starting with the peace talks

Travelercon!

Vokodo! Vilya!

Rexxentrum dinner!

Vess Derogna/Eiselcross

Finale would be death of Vess Derogna

Season eight:

Aeor exploration

Palling around with the Tomb Takers

Essek is a safe place.

Family goodbyes

Back to Aeor

Cognouza

Epilogue

I'm not saying this is what is GOING to happen, but this is how I would like to see events distributed, because of narrative beats and stuff.