#jester and molly are also great characters

[utilitycaster]

I'm confused. Did I miss anything? Or am I wrong about the fact that when Molly died half the team had been taken? They didn't have the power level to teleport anywhere. They were in the middle of nowhere? By the time they got anywhere with his body it would be too late? Then when they finally got the chance to get Molly back the fracturing was so vast it that it was a game of chance and they got Kingsley instead. Which isn't a mistake it is how stuff works.

so I will admit it's tough to vague - a thing I fully support - without crossing the line into like, openly screenshotting people to talk about how bad their posts are, which is pretty hostile and I will not do it unless someone is either horribly bigoted, or has done it to me, in which case, well, fuck around find out.

The precise context was not that it was a mistake for Molly to die but that it was a mistake not to have the opportunity to bring him back.

Here is the thing, and here's why I made this post. Taliesin could have brought him back. Taliesin could have said "Matt, I'm really not ready to let go of Molly, though I know death rules in the game are what they are; could there be a cleric in the Savalirwood with Raise Dead so at least there's a chance?" And instead of Caduceus we'd have a different random guy in the woods, and they'd have brought Molly's body to them, and they'd have done some fetch quest to get materials, or they would have found a scroll that Jester could attempt to read, or something like that, and there would have been a resurrection.

Molly could have come back at the end of the campaign too. Taliesin decided that the premise of the character was such that he wouldn't, and instead brought in Kingsley. Again: this is Taliesin's choice.

This is also ignoring the constant argument from Molly fans that Caduceus "didn't want to be there". Like, yeah, Caduceus did have a lot of issues with being an adventurer, which was a great character choice; but you're a fucking idiot if you think that Taliesin did not choose to keep playing Caduceus. Like, we've all seen Tary; if Taliesin said "hey, I want to revisit Molly actually, I'm done playing Caduceus" I do think that would have happened. Like, I do not think you can nor should say "well the dice did that so it's above question," but I think you can say "if Taliesin had really wanted Molly back, an opportunity, if not a guarantee, would have been provided by Matt."

I very much do not agree with the idea that disagreeing with player choices is disrespectful. You shouldn't harass them on Twitter but I think it's readily apparent I think you can say "yeah I disliked that move" and feel zero guilt. But there's this truly incomprehensible refusal among this stripe of fan to admit that the guy who developed and created Molly and who was deeply affected by his death also said "and I think his story is that he died and he stayed dead."

[critter-genfic-events]

This week, we have nine fics dealing with Grief or Mourning -dealing with the losses in the recent episodes of Critical Role, older losses, and imagined losses still in these character's futures. Check them out beneath the cut, and remember to comment and kudos if you like them!

divorce the first by Ink_Beneath_Her_Fingernails (3496,Not Rated) Warnings: Brief mentions of Molly's death, but it's not a focus. Pairings:

Common is the only language all of the Nein share, but it's not the first language of any of them.

Reccer says: There's such an aching sense of longing and grief and mourning in this fic that leaves you with the feeling of an old pain, almost too small to bother dealing with, not that you even could, but every day it sticks around like a rock in your shoe. It manages to slip under your defenses in a way fiction about things like death can't always do, while still touching on loss. There's also some really excellent development of worldbuilding and Wildemount here.

Proud by awaytobeunshaken (557,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast

Beau isn't sure how to feel after her father's death. Caleb tries to comfort her anyway.

Reccer says: I liked it

a white and soundless place by BeatriceEagle (7064,Teen) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death Pairings: Una Ermendrud & Caleb Widogast

A portrait of grief, from either side of the thing.

Reccer says: Una and Leofric feel like people, rather than saints.

psychopomp by hydraxx (3357,General) Warnings: Pairings: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast

Essek comes back to visit Blumenthal over the centuries after Caleb dies, while a long series of local innkeepers observe his mourning process.

Reccer says: It's a really sweet look at how Essek processes losing one of the people important to him, with background worldbuilding!

A Wisdom Without Face or Name by violettressed (17280,Teen) Warnings: major character death Pairings: Caduceus Clay & Jester Lavorre, Jester Lavorre & Essek Thelyss, Artagan & Jester Lavorre

Jester Lavorre spends a lifetime learning how to let go.

Reccer says: A great fic if you need a cry - there's little sparks of humor left by everyone being in character that make the entire thing even more heartfelt

Things to Do in Whitestone When Your Best Friend is Dead by untropicalisland (3038,General) Warnings: major character death Pairings: Ashton Greymoore & Laudna, Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Ashton Greymoore

Ashton tries to make sense of FCG's death while the party regroups in Whitestone following their return from Ruidus.

Reccer says: Ashton and FCG's relationship was so great, it's nice to see something that's got Ashton processing their death. And the Percy and Ashton's dynamic is pitch perfect and *chef's kiss*

Synonym for Tragedy by thetickingclock (1060,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Orym/Dorian Storm, Fearne Calloway & Orym & Dorian Storm, Dorian Storm & Cyrus Wyvernwind, Dorian Storm & Dariax Zaveon

Dorian and his brother. The music is different now.

Reccer says: Beautiful and haunting

like wildfire, it starts in my chest by ellis (ellabellachicketychella) (1523,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Dorian Storm & Cyrus Wyvernwind, Dorian Storm & Dariax Zaveon

If this is grief then the poems got it wrong-- or, i love how dorian's grief is rage so much. i wrote a little about it

Reccer says: A brilliant character study of Dorian after episode 93

To hold, to cut by thetickingclock (1665,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

A series of vignettes about the coping with grief through shared work

Reccer says: It felt true

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, we'll be focusing on Fjord Stone! Know of something focusing on his backstory, or maybe his interior life during the campaign, that orphanage heist that happened after? You should rec it!

After that, we'll be changing things up a bit. Mentorship will be happening on the 15th, but after that, we're going to switch to a twice a month schedule - starting with Scanlan.

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

Oh! Also! Critter Gen Week is happening! We've been using the themes for our reclist - so if you're inspired by what you're reading, consider writing (or making art) for that week!

[luddlestons]

Now you gotta give us an M9 booty tier list with those statements!!!

LMAO ok I will oblige. mighty nein ranked in order of best ass. TO BE FAIR: 7/9 of them have great asses. It's just that Veth and Molly have especially great ones that make up for the two at the end of this list

Veth. Of course. Absolutely. Sad that she's the one who's always at ass height but this just means she knows for CERTAIN exactly what she's got going on

Molly, although the tail whipping around everywhere does distract from his ass a lot.

Jester, and she would absolutely flip her skirt up if anybody felt like doing a comparison or something.

Yasha--extremely powerful glutes. however, her thighs are even more powerful and tend to be the focus for their head-crushing abilities

Fjord, who has no idea he has such a great ass and will frequently do things in tight pants that give way more of a show than he thinks he's giving

Beau, also extremely powerful glutes but she's too thin to really have THAT much of an ass even if it's toned af

Essek, has the same issue as Beau except that he's not actually that toned. Like his ass is fine it's just normal why are you asking???

Caleb. The man has no ass. MAYBE if he ate enough and wasn't so skinny he'd have like 2% of an ass but he's the kind of person who has to be careful sitting on people's laps bc he's so bony

Caduceus is an absolute goddamn stick of a man, you cannot tell me he has any ass to speak of. He's only mildly aware this is a part of one's appearance to care about, so he's fine with this ranking.

anyway there's my silliest character opinions!

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today we have eight fics in modern settings for you all! Have a look at them below the cut and if you end up checking some of them out on ao3, please don’t forget to leave kudos and comments! 🩷

Having Trouble Breathing In by Torchiclove (17,445 words, Teen) Pairing: Keyleth/Pike Trickfoot (Pikeleth) Warnings: None

‘The paramedic would take her breath away, if the asthma hadn’t done it for her.’ Keyleth falls for Pike in a modern AU.

Reccer Says: Enjoyable and well written fic of Keyleth falling for Pike in a modern AU. Explores Keyleth as a character with anxiety and it's a great, gentle depiction of falling in love with great characterisation despite the rare pair.

Live your whole life on a might-have-been by Chrome (2,681 words, Teen) Pairing: Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast (Widobrave) Warnings: None

Just a very short and atmospheric peice set in a modern au where Caleb and Veth met at university, and he’s driving her part of the way home for the holidays.

Reccer Says: I can’t describe the feelings this fic gives me. It’s understated and bittersweet and so full of longing that you’ll want to die. It feels like a Hemingway story almost with the way it manages to pack so much meaning in between the words the characters actually say.

And I became hypnotized by freckles and bright eyes by SunshineAndaLittleFlour (1,007 words, Teen) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: Drunk kissing

Molly didn’t realize he probably shouldn’t be kissing someone else’s partner until after he’d already started doing it.

Reccer Says: This fic, this whole series in fact, is absolutely wonderful! Its fun, flirty and emotional as well as smutty and one of the best stories/series for the purple boys and their ginger partner. Always a delight to read and this fic starts an awesome series off wonderfully!

softly, softly by maricolous (837 words, Teen) Pairing: Fjord/Mollymauk Tealeaf (Fjolly) Warnings: None

Fjord comes home from his shitty retail job to Molly, his roommate-turned-partner. They make out about it.

Reccer Says: It’s very cute and sweet, with a side of what feels Fjolly-typical horniness. It’s a fun little fic!

if we were a movie by burningdarkfire (8,800 words, Teen) Pairing: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett (Beaujes) Warnings: None

Jester decides to try and set Caleb and Essek up and ropes Beau into it. Cue many “friend” double-dates, a classic disaster lesbian Beau crush, attempts at coping with it, delightful romcom nonsense, a fun side of Shadowgast, and a very sweet ending.

Reccer Says: It’s silly, it’s fun, it’s heartfelt. Everyone’s voices are so on-point and every moment Feels like them. Beau is a mess and I love her, I want to squish Jester in my hands, and the wizards are menaces of a side pairing. Also the conversation between Beau and Essek at the maid cafe is so good.

candy hearts (so sweet on you) by thaumasilva (5,149 words, General) Pairing: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett (Beaujes) Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Implied Stalking (not between Beaujes)

Beau keeps visiting the gift wrapping station at the mall to get her Winter’s Crest presents wrapped, and the cute tiefling working there keeps giving her candy hearts with flirty messages, or: Three times Beau wanted to ask Jester out, and the one time she didn’t have to.

Reccer Says: It's just a sweet as the name implies, aaaa it's so cute

Intervention by VioletTeaTime (1,965 words, Teen) Pairing: Fjord/Caleb Widogast (Widofjord) Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Fjord intimidates the guy bothering bartender!Beau’s favorite customer into taking a hint and leaving. Then he gets flirted with and Beau complains about having to watch.

Reccer Says: ace fjord my beloved <3 also the boys' background friendships with Beau are very sweet

all actions and reactions by grayintogreen (2,879 words, General) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Jester Lavorre (Jestrid) Warnings: Depression, Burn-out

One of her friends suffered a breakdown, the other found religion, and now Astrid Beck, suffering from burnout and stress and a myriad of other things a pre-law student can suffer, has found the cherry on her misery sundae. Someone keeps buying all of the cinnamon scones she loves, and now she must end them.

Reccer Says: An amazing translation of the characters into a Modern AU, and surprisingly sweet

Thank you for joining us for our second 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 Whump. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Pre-Relationship, and you can also submit fics for that now!

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! 🩷

[definitely-not-an-alb]

ooh, how do you think molly would grift essek?

Alright. Let’s grift Essek.

First I need to note that any objection along the line of ‘Essek is too intelligent to fall for grifts’ is unnecessary, because whatever you think of Essek’s specific characterisation, assuming you are to intelligent to fall for a grift is one of the major ways people fall for them, in a ‘renowned high pressure social group researcher proclaiming on twitter that Sissy Porn is real and dangerous’ kinda way (look it up it’s some hysterical terf bs).

Gonna use that joke as a sidenote that if I am conflating grifts and high pressure social groups in this, it’s ‘cause as far as I care the difference is how self-aware the people running the show are. Watch any MLM-Doku (and I think we can all agree MLMs are grifts) and you’ll inevitably get to the part about weird aspiration culture bs and group pressure. It’s all one soup.

With that out of the way, let’s establish a baseline: What’s Molly’s reason for grifting Essek? Probably money and also the fun of it/being bored. Considering Kingsley abandoned his perfectly fine shipping company job to run off to be pirate king, I don’t think ‘Molly keeps grifting long after the M9 have become financially stable for shits and giggles and because Jester enjoys it’ is too outlandish a projection. Additionally, I don’t think Molly is great with impulse control nor this whole thing where current actions cause future consequences.

Now; why would Essek fall for a grift. Grifting relies on the dupe wanting something more than having good sense about it. Most people want money, so most girfts are structured around greed, but we know money is no object to Essek (though this does make him a juicy target – what he would barely miss might make a good haul for any grifter). We do know he is primarily motivated by knowledge instead, as well as a desire to be recognized as intelligent and exceptional. Additionally, we know he needs (in the character development sense) The Power of Friendship. Lastly, I think it’s fair to say he subconsciously longs for excitement (happy, fulfilled bureaucrats don’t become heretic spies; nor do they befriend a gang of mercenaries; implicitly, Essek is happier living the life of a wayward refugee-adventurer wizard than that of an Evil Gay Vizier Court Wizard or whatever papers a Shadowhand stamps nine-to-five.).

Being a paranoid bastard makes him a harder target, though the fact that we know he has fallen for someone’s bs before (I’m counting the spectacularly bad decision that is him allying with the Assembly as falling for a grift here. That’s a stupid decision to make!) makes him an easier target. Being so socially isolated makes him an easier victim, too, though his general rejection of people and clear discomfort with social interactions makes him an unlikely target for something like a romance scam. Essek’s relationship to tolerating bullshit is a weird one; on the one hand, he does put up with Jester’s (and the rest of the Nein’s) shenanigans, on the other he clearly knows how to and dares to tell someone to fuck off, and there’s that time he just ditches everyone via teleport (hilarious). So boundaries-wise, he could go either way. Lastly, I’d argue he’s at least somewhat impulsive or at least not risk averse. Always remember we are looking at an NPC next to Sword’n’Sorcery Adventurers – Essek might look cautious next to ruin-trawling wizards, but compare him to Gundula, 55, who works in Insurance and just clicked on a phishing link to claim her Totally Real Oilve Garden Gift Card, and you’ll see what I mean – most people are too risk-averse and unimpulsive to, again, commit treason via international conspiracy and then run off without a moment’s notice to dig around a cursed-ass ruin to save the world from a Cronenbergian nightmare.

Conclusion: He’s rich, he’s bored, he loves pretending to be a spy or grand discoverer, he wants to buy your dodgy foreign papers and incredible discoveries about the Luxon so, so badly and he has absolutely no one left in his life who’ll tell him it’s a bad idea.

So, for example, Molly could Voynich him. All he needs is a battered notebook and some writing supplies, whatever knowledge of what wizards’ and alchemists’ and spies’ scribbles look like he can easily pick up from traveling with the Nein and an opportunity to ask Essek to have a look at this encoded notebook he’s been lugging around all over the continent with him, why, he was at this party in Zadash and everyone else was some boring old pompous wizard (such a bore!) so he pickpocketed one of them, just for the fun of it, but, well, turns out neither Caleb nor Beau can make head nor tails of the weird sign code it’s written in (how tragic, if only someone happened to be so much cleverer than both of them!) and if Essek wants to have a look Molly would be more than happy to lighten his pack. For a small pittance, of course.

What’s small change to Essek is probably pretty nice to have for Molly, even by that level and especially if we’re mostly doing this for the fun of it. Essek gets to fall face first into his desire to show up Caleb, Beau and potentially an unknown Assembly member with his clearly superior decoding, espionage and wizardly skills and gain Secret Knowledge, maybe even Assembly Secrets on top of that.

Arguably, this one does rely very heavily on the fact that it’s hard to prove a negative, or in this case, hard to prove a barely-literate conman’s scribbles are just that. Do keep in mind Essek doesn’t know Molly is a habitual conman, but even so, it’s not a fantastic con (Essek isn’t dumb and knows his arcana after all and Molly doesn’t, or at least not enough to make a proper Voynich).

You could make it a better Voynich by getting Caleb in on it, but instead let’s pep it and turn it into a proper Real Stradivari by changing the hints that this manuscript might be legit to being alchemy-related and adding in a shill. Let’s go with Jester, because she’s down to clown, can lie and has a way with Essek’s boundaries.

So this time around, we aren’t asking Essek outright to buy our bogus notes – instead Molly gives him the whole spiel, hands him the notebook, fucks off with as little time to actually look at it as possible before Jester enters the scene to ask what THAT is and go oh it’s about ALCHEMY well, that DOES look like the signs she saw around Yezza’s house, pretty suuuure, oh, do you think it might be Yezza’s? Do you think Yezza might want it? Do you think she should ask Molly to sell it to her so she can give it to Yezza as a present to be nice because she’s such a nice friend who does nice things?

Honestly, the money part is optional if this is wholly about making Essek look up to see if the ceiling does indeed say gullible (and if Jester is involved, it might well do so! Always better to check, with her!), but a proper Violin Drop concludes with the Grifter returning to take their worthless thing back only to be asked to sell by the victim, who thinks the grifter doesn’t know what worth he has. If it was real, offering to buy the notebook would mean Essek outsmarted a minimum of three people (Beau and Caleb can’t crack the code, Molly is too dumb and illiterate to know valuable research notes from the morning paper) and gets his hands on potentially unknown-to-him luxon-related secrets! Alas, it’s not real, as he will realize soon.

So these are two (related) ways to scam Essek. But there’s a third one I want to mention one that is a lot of cinematic fun and I didn’t know had a name until Wikipedia told me no one does it irl (boo! That’s no fun!). It takes a lot of prep, math, and a lot of people and combines Essek’s obsession with the Luxon’s secrets and Molly’s penchant for passing himself off as psychic.

Molly would need something people in Rosohna bet on, like some kind of sport, preferably one with only two results and places people do said betting on said sport in groups. I’m assuming this exists on account of gambling and sports being culturally pretty universal concepts that love to go together.

Anyway. Imagine you’re Essek Thelyss, and one day a bunch of weirdos show up in court with a piece of the god you’re atheistically-heretically obsessed with. A few weeks later, you, having your ears to the ground about new developments regarding said not-god-pieces, hear one of the weirdos has made a name for himself as a outright oracle, correctly predicting the outcome of Fantasy-Dodgeball (Rosohnas’ favourite sport) perfectly six weeks running. He swears it’s because proximity to the Luxon amplified his inborn and long-trained psychic powers to predict the future.

Now, this is obviously bullshit. Except if Essek, being regrettably acquainted with the weirdos, were to ask, Molly would certainly confirm that sure, he has mystic powers and certainly they were amplified by the Luxon and predicting sport results is a hobby of his wherever they go, does Essek want to see? and lead Essek to a bar where every regular can swear on whatever he likes that Molly has correctly predicted the results of Fantasy-Dodgeball since the first week of being in Rosohna, in fact since before he himself knew the rules or track-record of any of the teams. Not only that, but there’s a second bar full of people Molly can introduce him too. And if he wants, he can certainly come back for a drink in one of them again next week when Molly has done it once more. Just call on Molly, he’ll tell you the time and date to meet some true believers, not all of whom can possibly be his shills.

(And, incidentally, barely worth mentioning, really, since Molly’s psychic blessings from the Luxon are so accurate, he has Exciting Business Opportunities for anyone willing to place more than their weekly betting budget in his trust, and he’d love for Essek to take a look at his powers. For a small compensation of his time, of course.)

Of course Molly can’t predict the results of Fantasy-Dodgeball. Instead, the first week of downtime in Rosohna, he found out what people like to bet on in Rosohna and where, picked one or two places in each district, go there and make predictions with a fifty-fifty split, then eliminate each watering hole where he was wrong each week, slowly cutting his audience back to only people who are getting to know him as That Outlander Who Always Knows The Results of Fantasy-Dodgeball, all the while escalating the story from him being just some dude betting and drinking with the guys to the whole Chosen By The Luxon thing. Considering this is a double-scam involving a faith aspect, he might very well still cash in in places he’s been wrong once only since victims of faith-based scams are very likely to overlook inconsistencies in their scammer’s stories or promised results. By the time Essek gets involved Molly’d be down to one or two places of true believers coming to him for ‘always accurate’ tips and a bunch of other people all over Rosohna he might get some money off based on the faith-aspect. And now perhaps one intrigued high-ranking government official who’s more than willing to overlook the hereticism inherent to the whole thing and is instead very likely to fall in the academic glue-trap of trying to disprove something clearly bogus that you do kind of want to believe in because like.

Wouldn’t it be cool? If the Luxon had more awesome powers? And one of them happened to fall in Essek’s hands, with no oversight and no need to cooperate with someone like Trent or Ludinus? Would he not want it to be real?

Anyway. The real answer to this question is: Enlist Beau to send bogus stuffed bills to Essek’s secretary. Bureaucrat on bureaucrat violence, let’s go.

[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!!

[revvethasmythh]

1 and 3 for each campaign?

1. OTP?/3. NoTP?

Campaign 1: Pike/Scanlan was honestly the ship I was most invested in during C1, which makes a lot of sense considering my overall taste in ships. I wouldn't say I had any NoTPs for C1, just some that I was less interested in--probably Vax/Keyleth was the ship I was the least into, it just didn't grab me a ton. Respect to the ship, and I don't dislike it, but it was my least favorite of the campaign.

Campaign 2: OTP for this one feels pretty obvious. Widobrave, easily. That was my shit, though, admittedly, I didn't start shipping it until after they released their second playlists (post-episode 100). Heart In A Cage did a number on me, I was sitting there like, "Caleb and Veth.....as a ship... you can DO that??" Reader, you absolutely CAN do that. And thus I have. If we're only counting canon ships, then Fjorester, which I was also super invested in the entire length of the campaign.

This might be the only campaign I actually have NoTPs for. Molly/Caleb is the first that comes to mind, that's just a big nope for me. not touching that with a ten foot pole, though this is likely because Molly is my least favorite character in any campaign. He did not do it for me. Well, perhaps he did too much. Either way, not into it. I also have an instinct to put Beau/Jester here, but tbh it's not the ship itself I dislike necessarily, it's the memory of how poorly behaved the fans were. Absolutely hateful shit, never could look at the ship the same way again. Kind of similar with Caleb/Jester. I respect that ship for what the relationship meant to Caleb, but also. God, some of the fans.

Campaign 3: This one is interesting. I don't know if I have an OTP or a NoTP for this. C3 has been a much more plot-oriented story and I think that shows in the shipping scene for it (which is not a bad thing! It's just a thing). So there's ships that I like, and ones that I dislike, but not OTPs or NoTPS per se.

Obviously I think Ashton/Laudna has amazing chemistry, and I still think that. Definitely what I had been most invested in for the campaign. Orym/Dorian is a banger, and Liam is doing a great job keeping the spark alive despite Dorian's absence. Fearne/Imogen has great chemistry and I do also think Fearne/Ashton has a lot of promise, too. OH and of course Fearne/Chetney and/or Fearne/Chetney/Ashton. Fantastic vibes with either of those dynamics.

Things that aren't so much my bag here are Laudna/Imogen (the chemistry and interest just isn't there for me) and Ashton/Orym, which I just don't get at all. Really, a theme with me is that I don't get the Tal/Liam thing. Not for me.

ask me a question!

[fruitzbat]

happy mollymauk week, everyone! as it's threeleaf day, I thought I'd use this time to spread the word about my fan novel trilogy to any enthusiasts who might not be aware.

The series is called “Devil & The Details”, but it’s more commonly referred to as “Devilverse” for short. The first two books are complete, and the third is currently being serialized.

Linked beneath the cut, we have an epic about Kingsley getting into new trouble on the seas, his captaincy of the Mollymauk, and ultimate rise to the throne of Darktow. While both Molly and Lucien make appearances — along with some other members of the Nein — the story is chiefly about Kingsley and his efforts to forge a unique path for himself. Since this is also a story where all three make an appearance, this trilogy potentially carries the dubious honor of being the longest threeleaf fic on ao3.

The goal of the series was to explore some of the things referenced by Taliesin about the ideas he wanted to explore with both Molly and Kingsley's existences, such as the notion of "soullessness" in mermaids and the philosophical concept of the tabula rasa. The overarching story is also about healing from different kinds of trauma, grief, breaking cycles of abuse, myths and realities of "the pirate's life" and "the resistance" as a concept, accountability, and how T4T love transcends petty things like death and fate. Think Black Sails meets Baldur's Gate with a Candide rising.

CW for: canon-typical violence and gay sex,* gore, mild body horror, frank discussions and depictions of slavery and genocide, cannibalism, suicide (especially in book III), and mentions (but not depictions) of sexual assault.

*There are also two short stories in the series that trend more towards the NSFW/PWP side and are about King and his love interest in the novels; their promo post can be found...

UPDATE: post deleted, flagged by tumblr censors since it's about two trans people in love, lmao.

The novels are written in what could be loosely described as historical fiction style, with other heavy influences taken from 90s anime and camp fantasy. They follow a standard fantasy trilogy setup, with the first book being more plotty, the second more character-driven, and the third currently shaping up to be a mix of the two.

BOOK I: Crowned Teeth (or, An Offering Revoked) [complete, 130,670 words]

We find Kingsley in dire straits after being betrayed by his crew and sold into slavery in the Hespet Archipelago. Breaking out with nothing to his name except a pair of enchanted pistols and a ragtag handful of other escapees, Kingsley vows to see himself avenged upon the leadership of the Tempest Fang.

BOOK II: Wine-Dark Sea [complete, 161,010 words]

With the Fang defeated and Kingsley trying to make things right in their absence, Fjord and Jester accept a quest to uncover a lost relic near the island of Glintshore. With the archdemon Maxima and the Abyssal Plane's intrigue unfolding in the wings, the three of them discover that there is more than what meets the eye.

BOOK III: Home to Roost [in progress, projected 300,000 words]

At long last, Kingsley and the other ex-Revelry members that make up the Diamond-eaters are sailing on Darktow. The long awaited showdown with the Plank King looms, and the archdemon Samiel plots to take the throne from Graz'zt. To his great misfortune, Captain Tealeaf catches the eye of both of them. To protect his new friends and ensure his path to the throne, Kingsley has to call on unexpected allies.

This is very much a labor of love on my end; King, specifically, is very important to me for many reasons. In case we never got the opportunity to explore his life and times on-stream, it was imperative to me that he get at least one story to call all his own.

If you want a proper pirate epic to tuck into, this is it!

[thevalleyisjolly]

Critical Role parties ranked by mothers’ names

They might be sung or unsung heroes of the land, but the real question is, how well do they all know each other?  For example, what are their mothers’ names? 

Introduction

Results reflect the number of named mothers in each party divided by the total number of known mothers in each party.  “Known mothers” refers to mothers of PCs who are confirmed to exist.  In order to be a “named” mother, their names/titles must be stated in an episode of Critical Role.  Supplementary books and comics are for now excluded, although to my knowledge, this does not change the results in any substantial way.

If a character does not have a mother or mother figure (e.g. FCG, Molly, Kingsley) or does not know/remember who their parents are (e.g. Fjord, Yasha), those parents are not counted as known mothers here because it was not possible for the characters -much less the party- to know who they were/are.  At the same time, if a character does know who their parents are but it is never established whether any of those parents is a mother (e.g. Pike, Grog), they are not counted as a known mother/mother figure in the party total.

Additional notes:

Mother figures who are not formally related to party members are considered as known mothers if the characters acknowledge some type of parental/familial relationship with them (which does not equate to a mothering or a positive relationship).  Currently, this is only relevant to two PCs, Yasha and Orym.  With Yasha, the Skyspear is counted as a parental figure, although she did not consider the quality of that relationship to be mothering or positive.  With Orym, it is unclear whether he considers Nel (Derrig’s wife) to be a mother figure, although we do know that they had a good relationship and it is likely she also occupied a parental role in his life as Derrig did.

FCG, Molly, and Kingsley are unique cases of characters who came into existence under very particular circumstances.  While FCG is certainly a sentient person, he has no memory of his early years and relationships in Aeor, and they don’t appear to view their relationship with Dancer as a parent-child one.  Molly and Kingsley, on the other hand, were pieces of Lucien’s soul who became their own persons and who emphatically did not identify with or as Lucien.  Therefore, while Lucien certainly had parents, they are not counted as either Molly or Kingsley’s parents.

If party members share a mother (really just Vex and Vax), that mother only counts as one known mother for the party total and is not double-counted.

Party rosters are as listed on Encyclopedia Exandria.  This does mean that Tiberius is included for Vox Machina.  One-shot characters (Derrig, Lieve’tel, Bertrand in the case of Vox Machina) are not counted as part of the official party roster, even if they are referred to as party members in the game.

A huge shout out to Encyclopedia Exandria in general, which was a really great resource in researching the familial relationships of each character and what has come up in-game!  And now, let’s get to the stats!

Vox Machina - 6/6 (100%)

Grog - unknown Keyleth - Vilya Percy - Johanna de Rolo Pike - unknown Scanlan - Juniper Taryon - Mariya Darrington Tiberius - Penelope Vex and Vax - Elaina

The ones who started it all!  Perhaps thanks to Scanlan’s speech, Vox Machina gets a perfect score, with six out of six known mother/mother figures being named in-game.  With Pike and Grog, while we know that both characters had at least one father, we do not know the gender of their other parents, and they are therefore not counted as known mothers here.

Bonus fact: If we exclude Tiberius, Vox Machina would still be batting at 100%.

Mighty Nein - 7/7 (100%)

Beau - Clara Lionett Caduceus - Constance Clay Caleb - Una Ermendrud Essek - Deirta Thelyss Fjord - unknown Jester - Marion Lavorre Kingsley - not applicable Molly - not applicable Veth - Ashlee Smyt’hh Yasha - The Skyspear

The Mighty Nein also get a perfect score for known mothers, with seven out of seven known mother/mother figures being identified in-game.  Since we do not know any of Fjord’s or Yasha’s birth parents, they are not included as known mothers in the overall count.  Similarly, neither Molly nor Kingsley have applicable parent relationships.

Bonus fact: If we exclude the Skyspear (and her inclusion is extremely tenuous), the Mighty Nein is still at 100% when it comes to known mothers.

Bells Hells - 2/5 (40%)

Ashton - unnamed mother Bertrand - unknown Chetney - unknown Dorian - unknown Fearne - Birdie Calloway Fresh Cut Grass - not applicable Imogen - Liliana Temult Laudna - unnamed mother Orym - unnamed mother; Nel?

Bells Hells is where it gets complicated!  Out of five known mother/mother figures, only two are named, giving Bells Hells a total of 40%.  As stated above, FCG has never defined his relationship with Dancer as one of parent-child, and we do not know who Bertrand, Chetney, and Dorian’s parents are/were.  We do know that Ashton, Laudna, and Orym are all stated or shown to have a mother, although we do not know their names.  On the other hand, the mothers whom we do know have certainly made an impression as big as that red moon in the sky!

Bonus fact: Since it is not clear whether Orym also considered Nel a mother figure, she is excluded from the official count.  If she were included, she would raise Bells Hells overall total to 3/6 (50%).

Conclusion

While both Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein have a perfect score, Mighty Nein arguably has the edge over Vox Machina in terms of just having more known mothers to name.  The Mighty Nein also have the meta advantage of coming after C1, with the cast meme-ing the hell out of “What’s my mother’s name?” and making it an actual in-game icebreaker question.

Very understandably, Bells Hells has had fewer episodes than either Vox Machina or Mighty Nein at this point, so we know a little less about them.  However, it is worth mentioning that we do know a fair deal about the relationships that Bells Hells have with their families, even if we don’t know the names of their parents, and that the impact of those relationships have been markedly felt by the PCs and their personal arcs.  Someone who never appears in the narrative but their presence is felt by what grows around them, y’know?

And now, it’s only right to close with an acknowledgement of the adventuring mothers from within these parties whom we most definitely do know and love: Vex, Pike, Veth, Beau and Yasha (if they did end up adopting), and of course, Fearne <3  

[rainpool989]

There is nothing more satisfying then watching your close friend go blindly into one you obsessions. My coworker just started Campaign 2 of Critical Role and is currently on episode 4 letting me know the following.

1. She thinks Taliesin looks like he’s having a great time playing Molly and it’s one of her top 3 characters (the other 2 being Jester and Yasha. Fjord is also growing on her more and more with each episode)

2. She thinks Nott and Caleb are a cute couple and ships them. Wants to know if they get together

3. She saw the Wired Critical Role video with the top google search results for the cast and learned many people think Liam/Sam are a couple. Only took her maybe an hour to understand why 😂

[localdragons]

i just finished watching critical role's campaign 2. that shit was GREAT. it took me 5 months, and was my first campaign watch of CR. besides that, i've seen tlovm first. absolutely love all the characters so much.. jester's chaos and her whole arc about what real love is, felt so great and wonderful. fjord with learning confidence and reestablishing his connection to nature and the ocean was so nice. plus him and caduceus had a great friendship. caleb and learning to forgive your past self and to move on.. and that you can't change the past, you don't have to forget to move on. (also i really love caleb x essek, even just as friends. but gay is good. essek is a great character and i just wish i got more content w him tbh.) yasha and letting go of her past, learning to love again and finding happiness and family. nott/veth and becoming ok with herself, regardless of how she looks, reuniting with her family and understanding that she is still a good mother even if she hasn't been there all the time beau and finding new family who love her, learning to be soft sometimes, and generally being a great friend caduceus is just great, a wonderful friend and healer and helping fjord heal in many ways. love that guy sm molly is.. what a dude lol. i miss him, but i love the arc that came out of his death. kingsley seems like quite the fella too. a different flavor of gay lmao i'll always love the m9 they're so wonderful. excited to start campaign 3 and eventually get to watch this show live!!! maybe in another 2 months lol

[utilitycaster]

Speaking of Laura and Marisha having relatively weak chemistry, which CR cast members do you think have the strongest chemistry (romantic or otherwise) across campaigns?

I've tried to limit this because I could literally name a great relationship for basically every cast pairing at this point, but some of my favorites. To keep things balanced, I've done a sort of circle situation with two pairings per cast member. I also haven't included Matt just because I think it would be weird because as DM he has to play off everyone well, and he does.

Travis and Liam always have something bizarrely intense and it's different every single time and it's never quite romantic (other than Bertrand/Lieve'tel) but it is, frequently, homoerotic. Obviously most present for Fjord and Caleb and particularly their conversation in the Xhorhaus, but the "I want to give you an experience" line in late Campaign VM and Chetney and Orym's conversation in the Heartmoor are two examples.

Ashley and Travis are also always good; Pike and Grog are legendary for a reason, Fearne and Chetney have some extremely fun stuff going on but can also take it to more serious places, notably their discussion after Ashton's shard absorption attempt. and Fjord and Yasha didn't interact a ton but their few moments (I'm specifically thinking their shopping trip around episode 108 or 109?) are stellar.

Sam and Ashley have the same quality I think Liam and Travis have, namely, they are on some level playing chicken with each other and neither will back down. We see this with Pikelan; my favorite interaction is Pike being mad at Scanlan after he returns from his Meat Man era. Pike and Tary and the flashcards to remember VM is also a legendary scene for a reason. Veth and Yasha have some unbelievably funny conversations (I killed my whole family, I'll throw you under a bridge) and FCG and Fearne have run the gamut from poignant (post-Otohan Fight) to ridiculous (Fearne riding FCG around and using them as a thermos; honestly, the latest Otohan encounter somehow straddled these two vibes).

Laura and Sam should be a legendary cast pairing. They tend to play in a similar space thematically and they also keep overlapping in some sort of stat or outlook as well, without ever playing characters who knew each other beforehand. It's uncanny. We had Vex and Scanlan as Vox Machina's Charm (highlight being Vex's reaction during Bard's Lament). Vex and Tary becoming best friends and opening a bakery. Jester and Veth's shenanigans and deep friendship (messing around in that temple in Zadash; Jester confiding in her about Fjord kissing her; that one time where they encountered the syphilis bandits and kept running past each other in the dark; Jester taking the flask; and many more). And FCG and Imogen's early campaign closeness, with Imogen insisting on FCG's personhood and the two of them doing mind and dream stuff together.

Taliesin and Laura, unsurprisingly given the appeal of Perc'ahlia, are always great as well. Their willingness as Percy and Vex to be incredibly honest with each other, even about their darker traits, is commendable. Molly and Jester were fascinating because I don't think he respected her much but he did enjoy her company, and she admired him greatly. Team Cleric was also, naturally, a great duo, and I particularly think of them both returning to their respective thematic wells of closed-offness and recognizing it in each other, but going to other places to open up. We didn't get a ton of Kingsley, but he and Jester seem to get along pretty well! And Imogen and Ashton's standout moment was post-shard, but they also had a really good conversation after All-Minds-Burn, and I think they are able to embrace the tension regarding their different idealizations of estranged parents as seen in the latest episode.

Marisha and Taliesin are also really unafraid to explore conflict with each other, and it enhances their character interactions. Percy and Keyleth's friendship is fascinating because it seems that pre-stream they were quite close, but once the Briarwoods arc hit they often found themselves at odds and played off each other brilliantly. I love Molly and Beau's belligerence as well; that is one of my personal big regrets about Molly's death, and Marisha did a fantastic job showing how Beau was affected. Beau and Caduceus were also really interesting, in that they saw each other as the adults of the team for a while, especially early on. Beau and Kingsley have a great conversation in the Nein Reunited. And I've been pretty open about finding Laudna and Ashton's chemistry fascinating; while I enjoyed it romantically earlier, and would have loved to see how that played out, there's just such a great weird tension now, post-shard, that's hard to pin down.

Liam and Marisha have two of I think the most popular relationships in C1 and C2 and with good reason. Vax and Keyleth complement each other incredibly well, and I find Keyleth's feelings about the Raven Queen and how she and Vax approach them very differently to be beautifully done. Empire Siblings are again a favorite - they're so often at odds early on even as Beau has a lot of empathy for Caleb, and they're both the nerds of the party and among the most politically-minded to the point of working closely together years after the campaign. Laudna and Orym are also fascinating because they have these similar and yet wildly different ties to Vox Machina, and Orym feels for her situation, and they have some great conversations during the Issylra arc, but I actually love the growing tension. I love Orym flat out telling Laudna that this mission is important and he is pressuring Imogen because only she is capable of getting this information. I'm excited for the infiltration that's coming up!

But also because I can't limit myself here's some thoughts generally about cases where it's not every campaign but it's worth watching. The short version is "Travis and Ashley have some kind of chemistry with everyone."

I can name at least one relationship, romantic or platonic, between one of Travis's characters and a character from every other cast member, but I specifically want to shout out him and Marisha, who have zero romantic chemistry and bananas platonic chemistry in not just all three campaigns but also EXU Calamity and Candela Obscura Chapter 2. (He and Taliesin tend to have a fun and different thing going on each campaign and have a lot of similarities as players; Scanlan and Grog's clown to clown communication and Fjord and Veth's weirdly charged hostility are great; and hilariously I am obviously a massive fan of Fjord and Jester but I feel like the Baileyhams each campaign are like either we're doing high romance or we're going extremely our separate ways, which kind of makes sense in that they have extremely different approaches to D&D but also a lot of overlap in themes. Like on the rare occasions Grog and Vex, or Chetney and Imogen talk it's very good but they're certainly not the closest of characters)

Ashley also plays well with everyone. She has phenomenal chemistry with both Marisha and Laura. Beauyasha is readily apparent but also what we saw of Pike with both Keyleth and Vex was fantastic, and Imogen and Fearne are great and have some sparks, and Yasha and Jester had some incredible conversations. I also enjoy Ashley and Liam but have never shipped their characters romantically (and I suppose that was only even feasible in C1 given character sexualities); that's on my list of "could be fun" because they do always play off each other well. I will say, Ashton and Fearne have grown on me as a pairing but Ashley and Taliesin have always like...quietly vibed and had some great moments, and I think Molly and Yasha was (platonically) promising and cut short, and I love the conversation where Caduceus encourages Yasha to tell Beau how she feels, but they've never quite blown me away. I would like to see it though. There's potential.

Marisha and Sam seem to operate in very different spaces and so like...Keyleth and Scanlan, or Laudna and FCG, don't really interact much though they do have some mechanical overlap (Keyleth and Scanlan were good in combat together but didn't talk a ton) but specifically as Beau and Veth they were incredible. This is out of game but I very much enjoy their rapport during the Midst roundtables. Would love to see more.

Liam and Sam are also a fascinating case in that they're obviously very close friends irl but it's only as Veth and Caleb, and as the Grimms in Candela Obscura, that they've played characters who were close. They do have great chemistry though, romantic and platonic, and I'd love to see it explored. Liam and Laura are also interesting in that I love the twins and think they're amazing, and I like Orym and Imogen's relationship but particularly with C2 in the rearview, I just do not see much romantic chemistry between them at all. Bonkers good platonic chemistry though.

Taliesin and Sam are also a fun one in that I do like FCG and Ashton's friendship and their post-shard absorption conversation was a standout, as is Percy's outburst at Scanlan during the Bard's Lament and his friendship with Tary (and Tary's crush on him). Veth and Molly had some good moments; Veth and Caduceus did NOT know how to interact with each other.

[critter-genfic-events]

This week, we have seven clothing fics recced! Some are perfectly light and fluffy, and some are heart wrenching in all the best ways. Check them out under the cut, and as ever, comment or kudos if you like them!

Ornaments by Crykea (1002,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

Mollymauk Tealeaf does not know who he was, and frankly, he doesn't care. Along with his family at the Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities, Mollymauk discovers who he is.

Reccer says: A cute pre-campaign story about Molly finding himself through clothing and accessories

What You Have And What You Hate by sheerdelight (1683,General) Warnings: Canonical Major Character Death Pairings: Beauregard Lionett & Mollymauk Tealeaf

Beau dons Molly's coat.

Reccer says: A loving look at Beau's grief after Molly's death, shown through her taking his coat

The Tale Of The Amazing Technicolor Gravecoat by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink) (2380,General) Warnings: None Pairings:

A bard tells a tale in a crowded tavern, not knowing that a group of renowned adventurers are listening....

Reccer says: A great outsider point of view and an original idea!

As Though It Were Made for Me by remi_wolf (3345,General) Warnings: Pairings: Jester Lavorre & Caleb Widogast

Jester might have meant the offer to Caleb of one of her dresses as a teasing joke to lighten the mood, but Caleb never actually said that he was opposed to the idea. Even if she had forgotten in the madness that was the rest of the day, Caleb certainly hadn't, and now that they were resting for the evening at the Xhorhaus, he could finally see if Jester could make good on the offer outside the gates of Zadash.

Reccer says: Some thoughtful genderfuckery involving Caleb, extremely fluffy

the brightest shade of sun (when i saw you) by genesis_frog (496,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Caleb WIdogast & Nott the Brave

Her clothing is rags, purposefully inconspicuous and purposefully plain, as if she were trying not to think of her body at all. She buys a yellow dress in Xhorhas

Reccer says: It's absolutely sweet and heartbreaking

Ribbons and Poison Blossom by Beauteousmajesty (1008,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Orym & Fearne

On the skyship over to Jrusar, Fearne injures her arm. In helping her out, Orym gets the delight of figuring out how her clothes go together.

Reccer says: I love Orym and Fearne's friendship but also how Fearne's dress stays up is a mystery for the ages

The Titan's New Clothes by MasterQwertster (440,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

Ashton gets their new clothes and does some reflecting on their personal growth.

Reccer says: Just a fun little introspection on the Lvl10 outfit upgrade

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, we'll be featuring time skip/future fics!

Then, it'll be pranks, Ashton focused, and game nights!

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

If you're looking for some more, 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!

[malaismere]

m9 classpects, continuing from the vm ones over here, because boy do I have a problem

Fjord is the Knight of Heart

Beau is the Knight of Mind

Caleb is the Mage of Light

Veth is the Thief of Void

Jester is the Maid of Space

Molly is the Prince of Blood

Yasha is the Maid of Hope

Caduceus is the Sylph of Time

I was tempted for there to be Even More Knights because boy howdy are the M9 a Knightly sort of party. But I think this makes the most sense.

descriptions below the cut

Also starting with lunar sway:

Fjord, Beau, Caleb, and Veth are Derse to Jester, Yasha, and Caduceus' Prospit. I am torn between saying Molly is Prospit, Derse, or a a dual-dreamer.

The rough idea for order (as a chain, idk who'd actually go in first) is:

Caduceus -> Fjord -> Jester -> Beau -> Molly -> Caleb -> Nott -> Yasha

Fjord: Knight of Heart

This is a bit of a tangent, but do you ever thing about Charisma saves and what they imply about Charisma as a stat? Like, Charisma seems pretty self-explanatory, it's how pretty/charming/persuasive you are, but it's the same save you make to avoid getting banished. That's because really, Charisma is about a sense of self, knowing your own truth, and that's what makes you so charismatic/persuasive/etc.

Fjord's the Charisma caster of the party, which is interesting, because he's got a fucked up sense of self. It isn't that he lacks a sense of self, but more that he refuses to accept it - you don't hide something you're unaware of, you hide something you're ashamed of.

Heart is very much the Charisma Aspect, because while, superficially it's about relationships, it's way, way more about yourself, your identity, and your soul. That is, I think, the center of Fjord's journey as a character - who he is, and who he wants to be.

Class wise, there's a fun read with the Destroy classes (Prince/Bard) as he does more than a decent job destroying hearts (see: any number of verbal takedowns of an NPC) but while he's tactical, he doesn't really ghost mind the way you'd expect. So, I don't think he's Destroying using Heart, I think he's weaponizing it - that is, he's a Knight.

Knights are defined by their inesecurity and the resulting mask, in Fjord's case, his false accent. That mask is literally a false confidence, masking insecurity by pretending to be great at their aspect (despite the fact they already are). Fjord's entire confidence is with a fake self, even though his normal identity is great, peak Knight.

Also, on a more literal level...boy's a Paladin.

Beau: Knight of Mind

Beau is a Mind player. She's smart, sure, but moreso she's decisive. Mind is all about outcomes and consequences, and as such, has a strong tie to justice, which is also something Beau has in spades.

Beau also couldn't more clearly be a Knight. Knights fight with their aspect (the Cobalt Soul style being quite literally fighting with your mind) and are most notable for their masks. While powerful, their very insecure, specifically about their aspect, and hide that beneath false confidence or some other shield. Their challenge is to accept themself and their abilities, and understand that they can, in fact, do this.

While she never reads as indecisive, Beau, like the rest of the Mighty Nein, shies away from important things, the stuff that really means something. She doesn't truly trust in her decisions, her ability to shape the world. She definitely hides behind a cool persona to cover for this, and also her general fears relating to her family trauma.

However, as she comes into her own as an expositor, Beau becomes way more of a focus as a leader, a gatherer of information, and a tactician. Endgame, we see her more literally becoming a lawyer, again Mind associated, and has faith in her decisions and how she chooses to shape the world.

Caleb: Mage of Light

So, Caleb would also make a pretty good knight-

Archetypally, Caleb is bouncing between Magician/Prophet, which are the two that are closest to swapping and are more fluid. He reads active to me, selfish and taking control rather than being moved by his aspect, but these are the classes where that distinction is the smallest. I think any of these could work, but wow is my boy a Mage.

Mages are defined by experiencing their aspect, usually categorized as suffering it, and through that gaining a unique perspective. And what can you say Caleb's done but suffer.

Despite his interest in turning back time, Caleb's not much of a time player, and it's not really what he suffers. I can see an argument for doom, but he's not quite so fatalistic; instead, I think, it's his greatest downfall and his greatest strength: Light.

Light is often associated with Knowledge, which is great for a wizard, but more than anything else, it's Plot Relevance. Light is attention - the spotlight shining on you, which is where things started to go wrong for Caleb - Trent focusing on him. It's also literally light, ie, fire. So, you know.

Now, Caleb's an interesting case, because I say that during the Volstrucker training, he inverts to a Heir of Void. Heirs are prodigies, their aspect comes naturally to them, but they're also easily manipulated by it. Void is darkness, secerts, the hidden, and irrelevance. All very Volstrucker qualities!

As Heir of Void, Caleb's an excellent Volstrucker. But, he's easily manipulated by Ikithon's lies, to the point of murdering his parents. And, well, Caleb's not really the Heir of Void - inversions are unhealthy and unstable. He breaks, and becomes made of Void - insane, irrelevant, hidden away in the Asylum.

I'd argue that most of C2 is Caleb recovering from this inversion, slowly moving back towards the Light. He's very much hiding when we meet him, after all, terrified of being seen/found again. But, eventually, we see him return into the Light, really pushing himself into the limelight and leadership. He also uses that information he learned from his struggles to change the world around him - not, to be clear, the suffering of killing his parents, but the suffering from Ikithon's attention, as his goal is to keep others from going through what he had.

To top it all off, Mages are prophets, but unlike their opposite seers, they are less about the telling of prophecy (not ones to be listened to) and more about the act of miracles. And Caleb has the most iconic miracle of Light in the campaign - the return of the Luxon.

Veth: Thief of Void

Veth's main associations are with sneakiness/secrets, water/alcohol, and shiny useless things. There's a lot of Void/Light imagery going on with her, which ties into a lot of her issues with attention/hiding. There's also some stuff with her and doom (death, obligation, explosion) but thematically I think Void wins out.

Class wise, she has a lot of aspects that are very Knightly. She's got a literal mask (doll's) and a figurative mask ("little goblin girl") and a bunch of layers on top of that. But, I don't think she's truly a Knight (and not just because that would make for a VERY Knight-heavy session) but that it's more a matter of roleplay/inversion - with the inverse of Knight being the very appropriate Thief.

Thieves steal their aspect for their own benefit. Same as Knights, they're hiding insecurities behind their natural confidence in it. Veth is, naturally, a quiet, fade in to the background person, uneventful, unnoticed, and incredibly sneaky, natural fit for a thief of Void. She both steals using Void (stealth) and steals Void (useless, unimportant objects, also alcohol).

Now, speaking of alcohol, let's talk inversion.

I don't think it's right to say that Nott represents a full inversion - to be honest, the change is less in her personality and more her anxiety/comfort. But there are definitely some points where Veth inverts to Knight of Light.

The biggest, I'd argue, is the event that got her turned into a goblin to begin with - where she goes from quiet background to taking the stage and being a hero, weaponizing attention to keep her family safe. This, arguably, doesn't go as well as it could of, because, well, inversion never goes well.

In general, alcohol also tends to represent an inversion, and we can see this with Nott's alcohol-induced confidence. Drunk!Nott pushes the plot forward rather than being caught up in fear, and is much more of a fighter, as well as in general being louder and brighter. Again, this is unstable and unhealthy.

Veth puts inversion aside, but in her healthiest form, she's definitely a brighter and more open person, having better integrated Light into herself. Part of the challenge for thieves is sharing their aspect - and for Veth, a big hurdle is sharing her secrets with others, letting them in, both in revealing her true identity to the M9 and in being more open with Yeza. The honesty doesn't make her lose her abilities as a thief the way inverting did; instead, it's made her better, a more stable confidence.

Jester: Maid of Space

Jester's main motif is art - cluttered drawings and paint and creation. That's all Space, baby! Also, on a more superficial aesthetic, while it's not one of the class colors, Space is associated with green (like the Traveler!)

I do think there's a good argument for Heart or Blood as Jester's aspect - she's a romantic, and she's got a lot of stuff related to manipulating people, both magically and, just, everyone's in love with Jester. But I think a lot of Heart is, in fact, her roleplaying her mother versus herself - while she leaves home looking for her dad and hoping to get them back together, I don't think that's really her arc. Instead, I think it's more about how she relates to her own power and the Traveler, which is way more a Space thing.

Archetypally, Jester's hard to placae. She's got some vibes as Prophet of the Traveler, and also with the Fairy, and Magician.

There's a fun connection between Seer and Scrying. She's got the rebellion of a Witch, and the natural talent of an Heir. But I think, inevitably, I'm going with Maid.

Maids start out relying on others for their aspect. Jester has been given everything she's ever wanted from her Mother, all the tools and art for creation, just not Space itself. She's also, notabbly, pretty lonely. And then she gets her new 'patron' in the Traveler, who gives her the powers of Space, and also, like, literally Space and travel.

Maids arcs are about coming into their own power instead of relying on others, and, arguably, Jester's is about the fact she doesn't need the Traveler - he needs her. While she is still a Cleric, their endpoint is as friends, not god/worshipper, and they're on pretty even footing. Also, like, the general vibe that Clerics aren't warlocks, their power comes from themself.

However, I don't think this 100% fits, and I think there's a good argument for Witch of Space, as Jester's definitely got that rebel Witch kick, or Heir of Space, as it comes naturally to her, plus inheriting powers from the Traveler, and in general she's more of a Change than Create/Heal, although, like, she may not be Cad but she does still Heal. For Witch, there's also the fact that the inverse is Seer, but I don't think Seer is really an inversion for Jester so much as just a thing she also does / roleplay, and even then it's more Seer of Space than Time.

Molly: Prince of Blood

Mollymauk Tealeaf is all about living in the moment, floating change, being free and clear of everything binding yourself to the past and reality, inspiring others with your actions, really, the cornerstone of Breath.

Anyways here's my read on Molly as a Hero of Blood.

Okay, joking aside, I do think that Breath/Blood is the cornerstone of Molly as a character. There is some fun Hope/Rage stuff (and the Rage/clown/circus motifs) but I think that's more aesthetic than anything else. Breath and Blood is the conflict between the worldly and the divine, the grounded and the free.

Mollymauk Tealeaf is terrified that one day he's going to wake up and be Lucien. Because he doesn't want to have those connections, he doesn't want to be stuck in this body, he wants to change and grow and escape.

Princes are one of the two Noble Classes, and they destroy their Aspect / using their aspect, while ghosting the inverse. Molly's breath aligned, flighty and chaotic and fun and free, and uses that to destroy connections, as well as to literally destroy using blood. Also, like, I am your King, Long may I Reign is huge Prince energy.

Molly I don't think ever fully inverts, but I do think he dances around it; I think his advice is, for the most part, shit, because giving advice is a Sylph of Breath thing. He's better at actually taking action, not just telling people what they should do, y'know?

The challenge of a prince is to not destroy themselves along their journey. Molly accepts his bonds to the Mighty Nein, and the doing of it kills him. A failure, but far from a disastrous one, although there's definitely still something reckless that's very princely to the whole Bloodhunter class.

For the other persons Tealeaf, I think they're all the same classpect (which I don't think Molly would especially like knowing). Lucien is much more about Destroying Blood - his entire plan is abandoning the physical to ascend to the spiritual. Kingsley, I'm less sure of, mostly because we haven't seen enough, but I think that it still fits; he's got a lot of the similar arcs, and is definitely very Breath oriented.

Yasha: Maid of Hope

So, there's a very fun Light/Void read on Yasha - Void for her being quiet/in the background/constantly leaving, then Light for her true, divine self. (Light is also the Lesbians aspect, notably. Yes, I gave it to Caleb. No, this doesn't mean anything). I think there's a fun take here, but it's not quite where I want to go.

Instead, I'm looking at Hope/Rage.

Rage is a pretty obvious get for the barbarian, but it's less anger and more chaos, skepticism, defiance, vs Hope's optimism and inspiration. As an aasimar, Yasha feels like she's inherently a hero of Hope, but in this reading, she's spent all of her time since she was a child and first fell to the Rumblecusp arc inverted as a Hero of Rage.

While Angels are a hope symbol in general, I think especially it tracks for one of the Fairy/Create classes inverting to the Noble/Destroy classes. I can't imagine Yasha ever being a Sylph, so instead, we're looking at Maid of Hope, with it's inverse Bard of Rage.

Bard of Rage is a very barbarian classpect - it's what I gave Grog! - where Rage builds up and becomes used to destroy. When Yasha is fallen, she's very destructive, and her fallen aasimar abilities are very Rage. But, as this is an inversion, it's not stable.

So, who is Yasha, Maid of Hope?

Well, to start off, the Maid of Hope is epitome of life and inspiration - Obann has chosen her for her unkillable nature as a Zealot barbarian, and I'd argue this is the Maid of Hope at work.

Maids start out kind of as doormats; a Maid of Hope relies on other as to what to believe in. This tracks for Yasha, who's pretty gullible (see: like any Nott/Yasha interaction) and in general easily manipulated; this ties in to both the Skyspear and Obann pushing her towards that Bard of Rage inversion (although it still being important she's Hope at her core, for the Zealot barb powers for Obann and because she's the future leader for Skyspear).

Maids, however, rise to their power, they decide what to do, what to believe, and gain confidence in themselves, earning their power. Yasha in Rumblecusp arc really feels like this; she's decided what she wants to be, and ascends on wings of light.

Also something something Yasha's ideal life is being a housewife, not a warrior. Yeah, it's not that kind of Maid, but you know what I mean.

Caduceus: Sylph of Time

Class wise, Caduceus is the easiest of anyone - he's such a Sylph! Sylph are the most passive of the classes, the most healer, and, most importantly, the ones who give the most advice! Boy do Sylphs love to talk! They both heal their aspect and heal with it, and grow their aspect from seeds. Lots of plant imagery, which fits lives in the woods Clay.

Caduceus' main aesthetic is, far and away, death. He's the keeper of graves, after all. He's also got a lot of thoughts about fate and destiny. Now, these aspects are ones I used on Vax to associate with Doom, but for Cad, I think these are Time.

Time's the most active, and the most destructive, and personality wise doesn't track super well with the more patient Cad, but I think a lot of that is Sylph. He's not super space-y either, while he does have a plant association, he's not who I really class as creative, and I also really don't think he's impartial. The more you dig into Time, especially a calmer Time, the more it fits Cad - empathic, relentless problem solver, defensive, etc.

As Sylph of Time, Caduceus heals using his aspect - in this case, I'd argue, Destiny. His main work is with Fjord, fixing his path and destiny, and to a lesser extent, Caleb, pushing him away from his darker timelines, and, literally, the time manipulation plan. He also heals via death, which tracks with his decay/rot vibe, as well as healing Death itself, being the gardener tending a graveyard.

We don't tend to see much as to what Sylphs need to improve, because Sylphs are pretty stubborn and think they know best. Arguably, they need to accept that they don't, and that their meddling in other peoples lives isn't always helpful. Caduceus never learns this lesson, nor do I think he ever will, because everyone is too fucked up to even consider calling him on any of his bullshit. The only one who I think ever came close is Caleb, and hsi path was always to just sit there, nod, and ignore it.

(Before anyone asks me, Caduceus is helpful, but he also, definitely, doesn't always know what he's talking about. I love his one liners, but he has a narrow view of the world. Like, literally every single one of Taliesin's charaters has this same tick, a very strong and well developed and fundamentally flawed way of viewing the world; Cad's is just flawed in ways that are helpful to the M9).

[nd43polyneins]

This is a screenshot of the top 10 Explicit pairings in critical role on ao3, minus fics featuring noncon/rape because I always have that filtered out. I don't really read anything but E rated fic these days, and I know this skews a little different (but not that different) if you include G T and M fics, but here we are.

I'm just gonna playfully rant under the cut I'm sorry.

I like caleb. He's a great character, and there's a lot of really interesting stuff people have done with him but... sometimes it legitimately feels like if i see one more goddamn caleb centric fic im going to hurl myself off a building.

3 campaigns with over 30 player characters and hundreds of NPCs and the sexiest thing we can think of is the white human wizard =/

Also if Fjord/Jester gets knocked off the bottom it WILL be my joker moment. The fact that they've already been passed up by 2 campaign 3 pairings (both of which i like a lot but I have needs that can only be met by blue tieflings with half orc lovers) is actually kinda embarrassing to me. And that's just my otp, that's not even considering Fearne or Ashton haven't breached the list at all, or any other campaign 1 ships... where's my fcg/frida sex... where's my molly/anyone besides caleb... where's kingsley...

I HAVE NEEDS, INTERNET. I HAVE NEEDS AND CALEB AND ESSEK ARE NOT MEETING THEM. I CAN ONLY READ SO MUCH SHA DOW GAST BEFORE I AM COMPLETELY SICK OF IT.

PLEASE critters. Please put the sad wizard down for five minutes and think about ME. Think about MY wants. Think about hot orcs, and tieflings, and genasi... basically anything that ISN'T a human wizard. Thank you.

[callioope]

Bard, goblin and sorcerer for CR asks? ☺️

Hello!! Ooh these are good.

Spoilers ahead for both TLOVM (and I guess technically campaign 1) and campaign 2, for anyone who's not caught up (and there are spoilers for what could happen eventually in TLOVM).

bard: what is your favorite “how do you want to do this?”

Ahh I know I sent you this one, too, but this is HARD for me! The first two that popped into my head were Vax's against Thordak and Jester's against Lucien/Cognouza, but after some thinking I also loved the HDYWTDT against Kevdak and Obann.

For Thordak, the drama and desperation of Vax flying after him, the natural 20, the fact that he was alone a;kdsjf;kasdfj (how many people killed dragons with no witnesses lol? is this the 'if i had two nickels' meme? anyways) Most importantly the vengeance this meant for the twins, for avenging their mother, the way Vex flies in after him and hugs him, I get teary-eyed just writing about it.

For Lucien/Cognouza, again, Jester was just tearing up my heart during that battle every time she appealed to Molly (how she blamed herself for his death because she wasn't there </3 ahhh). And so the fact that she got the last hit with that final appeal to Molly just felt so right.

Honorable mentions for Grog's HDYWTDT against Kevdak because of the epic way it happened (pokeball delivery from above yess) and recency bias since I recently watched that episode in TLOVM, SO GOOD. And Yasha's HDYWTDT against Obann.

Apparently I have a running theme with 3 out of 4 of these being very personal and appropriate for character backstories.

goblin: who is your favorite non-main campaign character?

Nydas!!! I just loved his arc throughout EXU: Calamity, his initial skepticism and creeping apprehension as he started to suspect what was happening, and just everything he did in part four. He had so many great speeches. And I loved his friendship with Zerxus, too. AHH NYDAS.

I mean everyone in Calamity was fantastic but Nydas popped into my head first so I'm going with my gut here.

I do also want to give an honorable mention Hazel Copperpot because I adore her and her gramophone and I do wish we could have seen more of her! Darrington Brigade Part 2 when? Considering it takes place in Wildemount, Mighty Nein tie in eh? eh? Deastok is not that far from Kamordah after all. I bet Taryon drinks Lionett wine.

sorcerer: what is your favorite sam commercial skit?

LOL OMG. I mean. The Nordverse is pretty enveloping (although I haven't watched the oneshot yet). I do love the D&D Beyond ad song and often get it stuck in my head when using D&D Beyond. "You click open the webpage yaheardaboutonCriticalRole..."

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