#prime deities

[circle-of-wildfire]

arrival of dawn

[ben-phantomhive-trash]

"Change"

Day 26. Faithful CareGiver, follower of the Changebringer

[undead-knick-knack]

It's fine. They're fine. They all totally worship and pray to a prime deity a normal amount

(the painting is "Execution of Torrijos and his Companions on the Beach at Málaga" by Antonio Gisbert Pérez)

[mayapapaya33]

I'm rewatching Exu: Calamity and I think they made a mistake with the name. The real title should be Exu: Actually, Vasselheim has good reasons for how it operates, even if they're dicks about it sometimes. Maybe it was too long, so they went with the snappier CALAMITY! Instead lol.

The end of the Calamity was only 840 something years ago. With Elves and dragons running around, some of them are definitely old enough where, if they didn't live during the Age of Arcanum themselves, their parents or grandparents would have and they would have been told a thousand stories of the fuck heads in flying cities who destroyed the world and were super annoying and dangerous long before they did that. Many more would be born during the latter part of the Calamity or raised by people who survived the Calamity who passes on those stories. Depending on the race we are talking anywhere from direct witnesses (Like the Bright Queen and Ludinus) to like 2-5 generations removed. Even humans with our short lifespans, it's really not THAT long, especially if you've got a bunch of old ass elves around teaching history class from a first person pov for like 500 years lol.

Intellectually people know that Critical Role, the world of Exandria is a post apocalypse story. Exandria is a scarred landscape that is just beginning to bounce back from the brink. But because it is recovering, it's easy to forget sometimes that it IS POST APOCALYPTIC. So people looking at Vasselheim in the modern day are like, 'bro, you really need to chill, everything's fine.' And Vasselheim is like... 'Chill? I do not understand the meaning of this word. And everything is fine... for now. We will be a bastion of civilization when the end times come once more. Fare thee well traveler.'

Then everyone rolls their eyes and moves on with their day. But if you really think about Vasselheim's isolationism and strength and distain for arcane magic in historical context, you can't really blame them. Are they over the top about their dislike of arcane magic? Sure. Is it quite possibly the most understandable over reaction in the history of over reactions? Also yes! They haven't made it illegal, they are just going to keep an eye on you, so you don't pull a Vespin Chloras and doom the planet to another few centuries of choked skies and sundered landscapes, that's all. Vespin was IN Vasselheim! Of COURSE they have strong feelings about it. The (Almost) End of the World began in Vasselheim due to arcane magic. If they had been stricter, maybe it wouldn't have happened at all!

And it really does paint their actions in Campaign 1 in a different light as well. Their isolationism can come across as shortsighted and selfish, until you view it from their point of view. Which is that they are constantly under threat, they know for a fact that Asmodeus wants their city destroyed, they are a bastion for the Prime Deities in a world filled with many heathens (lol that's where the dickishness comes in) and the Betrayer Gods would take any sign of weakness in their defenses and attack with glee. Hearing it in C1 it sounds like an excuse not to help against the Chroma Conclave, but it is literally just the truth from what I can tell. In BOTH Calamity and Downfall they have mentioned destroying Vasselheim being on the Betrayer God's to do list lol. If I was on a Betrayer God's to do list specifically, by name, I too would be somewhat paranoid and would not really want to disarm any portion of the city to go do something else. No matter how important the something else might be.

Vasselheim was basically like; Look, I'm very sorry to hear about your Dragon problem, that sucks, truly, but if we go out all willy nilly and leave this city undefended, it'll be fucked when we get back. When you have a real plan, come back and get us and we'll join you for the big fight. Until then, it's up to you, here you can have Kima as well, she's been desperate to get out of here anyway, and here's some supplies. We have larger concerns than one continent being attacked by four ancient Dragons. We are the seed bank for civilization for when shit inevitably hits the fan. We are the doomsday bunker for the Apocalypse, four Ancient Dragons are terrible, but they are not the Apocalypse. And they are right. Looking at it all in context, The Chroma Conclave are small potatoes. Horrific, monstrous, life destroying, but compared to the threat Vasselheim is preparing for, nothing.

They are the doomsday preppers of Exandria, except the threat is real and they are only letting their collective trauma and ptsd inform their decisions a little bit. They are actually fairly rational all things considered. This city withstood the entire Calamity. The stewards of the city must feel an enormous weight and responsibility to keep it safe going into the future. Imagine the pressure. Are you going to be the one to fuck it all up, after thousands of years? Sounds like a nightmare to me. The level of devotion and conviction required to keep something like that going is incredible.

[tiredqueermushroom]

The relationship between the Prime Deities and the Betrayers is so interesting, especially when examined through the lens of grief.

One side mourning the loss of their home, running and building a new home. With new life and hope, in hopes of honouring what they had lost. And recreate that feeling of home.

Vs

The other mourning and carrying that loss with them, being defined by their grief. Viewing the world they're siblings created as nothing but a mockery that spits on the memories of home. Their true home.

[song-of-baldy-ron]

I need to rewatch the beginning but I’m pretty sure everyone who made moves to help the “ship” stabilize or fight the entity (Predathos I assume) eventually became a Betrayer God, which is just heartbreaking.

[aeons-behind]

some asmodeus quotes, as a reminder:

"you think my enemy are the prime deities? those are my siblings! we were happy once together"

"just ask yourself, zerxus, whom did we betray?"

they may be gods. they may fight by killing thousands of people (instead of just. like. stealing some clothes or something). but they are still siblings, and if they need to bring down a city to make sure the mortals remember that, then so be it

[mendokayalways]

Thinking about the Matron and how she was finally accepted by the Prime Deities as their sibling towards the end of Downfall which is also basically the beginnings of the Divergence, its the start of the gods discussing separating themselves from the mortals and each other to an extent. And how the Matron in C1 is described as lonely and I wonder how it would feel if one felt only a blip in all eternity being accepted by the Divine while being Divine and then immediately having to recede. Of death and destruction being the genesis of one's acceptance into the eternal. How fitting for the Matron of Ravons.

[smilelikeawolf]

Brennan: "You've never seen hanged bodies horizontal, as the wind pulls them. The faithful, executed for their crimes of devotion to you."

[naazaif327]

Downfall really is such a good conundrum, because like, here you are, the Prime Deities amidst the war, and the whole world, every mortal and every one of your angels, are waiting with baited breath for you to save them and kill the betrayers. And they ask you, with confusion and horror in their eyes, why won’t you do it? Why won’t you kill them? While you dither, we suffer and die and rot. And you treat them like children, tell them they don’t understand, things are too complex for their small minds, but they do understand. They understand love and torment and pain and loss. They understand why it might hurt you. Perhaps you love your siblings more than your creations. Now blow this city and all it’s children (all your children) out of the sky. Now banish your siblings but never kill them. Leave them once again to fester in exile, while they plot and scheme for their next attempt to break out and wreak havoc on your creations.

[therushingriver]

Love all the gods discussion but there's a few things Im not seeing enough of

1) The gods realized the power imbalance wasn't working and chose to lock themselves and each other away. Since then, it's seemed like they have tried to stay out of human affairs except for giving powers and the betrayers trying to escape. You could argue the Primes should have tried to kill the betrayers, but they implied that they knew predathos was out there and they might need all the gods to fight it. Mortals waging wars and being oppressive in the name of Gods doesn't mean the gods are doing that. The gods give power and its mortals who choose what to do with that power. Just as the archheart giving arcana and people doing what they will with it. You could say the Primes should stop their followers from doing fucked up shit but that is still interfering. And the Primes seem to be taking the no interfering thing seriously. See campaign 1.

2) they couldnt do what they did at Aeor because the divine gate exists now. There is a reason that since the gate we have not heard of the prime Gods doing anything major on the material plane. They give power to mortals, the mortals decide what to do. The betrayers are trying to wreck shit but they always have and the primes did lock them away before they left.

3) what is gonna happen to people when they die or those who have already died? The matron ushers them to different domains, many of which are gods domains. Will people just die without the gods (ie no afterlife just nothingness like many athiests in our world believe). Do those who have built a life in the afterlife like Vax disappear too? Maybe vax would be okay with that but how many other champions or simply people living good afterlifes are there. I certainly would prefer being in the dawn fathers pearly shores to the nine hells or the many other domains. And the hells would still exist. Demons and devils are not gods. They could very well destroy the entire world if not held back by divinity.

This is such a fun philosophical discussion Matt has created, he should be really proud.

[shellem15]

To the betrayer gods, they are living in the plot of the bee movie. No I will not elaborate.

[ben-phantomhive-trash]

“Judge”

Day 22. The Lawbearer

[undead-knick-knack]

Ashton I love you but please shut the fuck up 😩

"What is this art for that you refuse to fucking abandon!?" Bitch what does that mean!?

[mayapapaya33]

Ow ow ow. I just saw the parallels between Zerxus and Cassida both wanting to save a God. Zerxus wanted to save Asmodeus, both spiritually, by redeeming him, and physically, right at the beginning of Calamity, he wanted to save him from The Dawnfather, the "pitiless face of the sun." Cassida wanted to save the prime deities, all of them, but specifically The Everlight. Possibly both spiritually, by supporting the Everlight with worship, the Everlight, who's worshippers were slaughtered by Asmodeus, and physically, by ending the war with the Betrayers.

Zerxus and Cassida both doomed themselves and their cities (with help from their friends/coworkers!) because they wanted to save the gods. They committed incredible acts of hubris and incredible acts of love. And to have it be those two gods specifically! Oh No. I'll definitely probably speak more about this in depth another time, I just needed to get this out. Ouch.

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

Ludinus is far too good at his job

Ludinus Da'leth isn't an underdog fighting the tyrannical rule of the gods and I will die on this hill. Dude has been running the CA for centuries, so he's ridiculously good at manipulating the facts.

He is a tyrant who hates that there is someone out there who can do to him, what he does to others.

"We are not their beautiful children." Of course he'd think that, because he's the type to see parenting as a means of holding power over someone else - instead of a guardian raising their ward to be self-sufficient and then letting them go.

Yes, the gods are like the mortals - but not in the way that Ludinus sees it. He wants to lift mortals (specifically him and his ilk) to the level of gods, rather than bring the gods down to earth and humanise them.

Ludinus doesn't need any more soldiers, he confessed as much to Imogen and Fearne. He doesn't need action - he needs inaction. He needs to sow seeds of doubt in his enemies, so they hesitate just long enough for him to get a step ahead.

Dude reminds me of some far-right politicians, and it makes me love to hate him even more.

Anyway, fuck Ludinus Da'leth and his evil-ass mind games