zemnian-newcomer

[zemnian-newcomer]

honestly yeah, fiber arts is magic. you cast spell of warm gloves, spell of nice hat, spell of stuffed animal.

material component: yarn

wand: single hooked wand or double pointed wands, depending on caster's preference

mechanical component: specific motions repeated in a particular pattern

time component: a while

look seriously the first step in a knitting recipe is "cast on", and then it's a bunch of letters and numbers incomprehensible to anyone not versed in the arcane art. that's a spellbook. yes it's a book of knitting patterns but also. it's a spell book.

[zemnian-newcomer]

I'm thinking about the absurdity of everything that happened to the Mighty Nein when they finally make it to Rosohna.

Like, imagine being the Essek for that.

Here's a group of adventurers. They have a surprising number of humans in their midst. That's a little suspicious considering the war with the Empire. After a few questions, they appear to be the world's most obvious and transparent spies. Like... Come on, they don't even really seem to know the region.

Well, whatever, guess they're gonna be treated appropriately-

Oh, that's a beacon. In a moment of stress, they proceed to pull out the most valuable relic of your people, which was stolen, or lost, and just... hand it back over to you.

You (as Essek), know about 95% of how they got their hands on it, because you've been keeping tabs on it because you're the one who handed it over in the first place. And here it is. In the throne room. They have no idea what it is, but they know the Bright Queen wants it, and they seem to earnestly want to make friends, and really would just like one of their members to get her husband back.

And the whole thing gets even stupider because you (that is to say Essek), decide that your best chance of keeping everything secure is to be the one who keeps an eye on them, and these dumbasses categorically refuse to stop trying to befriend you. You are specifically, actively trying to stop them from getting you caught and executed for treason, and they're like 'hey, you want to come over for dinner or something? We have a hot tub.'

[zemnian-newcomer]

I understand the impulse to clown on Essek for walking around in Vasselheim with his recognizable voice with the Bright Queen's spearhead commander, and of course we could turn to the metatextual elements (the necessity of signposting the world for players on the part of the GM, the ease of using a familiar ally to introduce a relevant NPC and new point of contact) to dismiss this if we wanted, but I think it's more interesting—and funnier, as you'll see—to imagine this as simply an extension of the laws and logic that dictate the Mighty Nein as a narrative entity.

Fundamentally, the Mighty Nein within their campaign pursue personal and collective agency, often at the expense or in denial of political power. Where they do interact with more political forms of power, they evade its grasp upon them, most notably in their interactions with the war, but also while they engage with the Cerberus Assembly, the Cobalt Soul, and even the Revelry. The way they pursue agency, on the other hand, has far more to do with their own support of one another and their own individual power, especially where there is magic involved, and manifests in having the freedom to move and act as they wish in the world.

The culmination of this, as we know, is the mechanical ability in their final battle against Lucien and the Somnovem to manipulate the terrain of the battle map to their advantage with only imagination. At the same time, Jester and Caduceus can both call in free favors from their gods, one of whom is unlimited by the Divine Gate and in fact is far more governed by fey logic. Fjord has made three different divine pacts and is virtually unrestricted by any of them. Caleb's hallmark is an almost infinitely malleable home that almost literally seems to operate as a hammerspace, with a pinnacle dedicated to the potentiality of the universe, the application of which is one of his signature spells—against all odds successful in his initial goal, no longer fueled by guilt and grief, of bending reality to his will. It's narratively and thematically cogent that this be the calling card of the party as a whole.

The Mighty Nein are, in effect, dictated by Looney Tunes logic, and nothing else. They have been so successful in their pursuit of their own freedom that they no longer abide by the cosmic laws of Exandria, let alone the laws of physics or sense. So yes, from an external point of view, it does look exceedingly foolish for Essek to be traipsing around in Vasselheim under the Bright Queen's nose, but it's far more entertaining to argue that being a member of the Mighty Nein in fact simply confers the capability of ignoring the laws of reality without consequence when it's narratively convenient, characteristically interesting—or just really fucking funny.

[zemnian-newcomer]

Essek: “I’m in hiding.”

Also Essek: *smacks Verin* *smacks Verin* *smacks Verin* *smacks—*

[zemnian-newcomer]

gotta admit, it would've been really fucking funny if, after YEARS of waiting for him, verin fucking died immediately

[zemnian-newcomer]

Catching up on last night's episode, and I love how Essek's "I'm fond of members of the Mighty Nein" implies that there are members of the Mighty Nein he ISN'T fond of.

[zemnian-newcomer]

Ludinus securing dunamantic fighting powers for his lieutenant assassin: Haha fuck yeah!!! Yes!!

Ludinus watching his malleus key let get torn apart by a troupe of echo knights who want their beacon back: Well this fucking sucks. What the fuck.

[zemnian-newcomer]

There are so many options for how Verin and Essek could have reconnected but I can't exclude the possibility that upon arriving in Vasselheim, Verin laid eyes on Seth Domade and went "I'd know that fucking nerd anywhere" and got a surprise round on him with a headlock

[zemnian-newcomer]

I do love that last we saw Essek, he was peacing out of Vasselheim because he saw the Kryn banners, and now a few days later even among all of the forces gathering he's just hanging out. Introducing his annoying little brother to important world leaders. Asking after his boyfriend. I'm going to infer from this that he knows and fully trusts that Verin can and will cover for him if it becomes necessary, and I love that for him.

[zemnian-newcomer]

essek: this is verin. you now have an emotional attachment to verin.

vox machina: ok.

essek: do u promise to protect him.

vox machina: yes of course.

the narrative: VERIN IS NOW IN MORTAL DANGER

[zemnian-newcomer]

do you ever think about the fact that essek is probably a million times nicer to verin now than he ever was before?? and that verin, for the first time, gets the really meet his brother???

do you think about the fact that the cold mantle of the shadowhand is gone and withered, replaced by the warmth of the nein and caleb's love, and verin, for the first time in his life, gets to have a real relationship with his big brother that's not a facsimile of den politics or social standards??

the scene where verin and essek (in disguise) meet with vox machina is SO important, because essek--the former shadowhand to the bright queen, traitor to the entire dynasty, fugitive to two nations--smacks his brother on the arm and chides him for being embarrassing in front of people of high station. he doesn't try to hide himself AT ALL. he's just... open. warm. at peace.

there's no more cold smiles, there's no more polite aloofness, no more haughty attitude or snide remarks... essek's just a big brother again. a big brother whose little brother came to work with him one day, walked up to the president of the country and asked her to sign his pamphlet with a shit-eating grin, while essek tried not to burst a blood vessel in the corner.

no matter what verin's opinions are on the dynasty and the beacons and essek's crimes, i'm willing to bet that there was a part of him that wouldn't have changed a goddamn thing. because without essek having stolen the beacons and handing them over to the empire, and without him meeting the nein, verin would've never gotten the chance to have his brother back.

[zemnian-newcomer]

Essek isn't even operating under his own name and is still DEEPLY mad that his annoying little brother is embarrassing him in front of world leaders, I'm OBSESSED

[zemnian-newcomer]

genuinely though, I love lieve’tel just from a symbolic perspective. DEATH is patient, DEATH is kind. death isn’t going to answer any of your questions about “when” or “why” to your satisfaction even though you have them. cryptic motherfucker. she’ll wait thirty years with your name on her lips and then move on to the next beautiful soul—but that doesn’t mean she’s forgotten you. you’re still there in the back of her mind. death comforts those left behind to the best of her weak ability and does not mind as they rage at her. death is soft-spoken and swift to strike and her hands and cold and gentle. when you see her face, death is beautiful. best servant of the raven queen. knocking it out of the park with this one, mr. o’brien.

[zemnian-newcomer]

in canon it may have been the blessing of the everlight that saved verin’s ship from the magic missiles, but i like to think that the essek living inside of matt’s brain would not let him roll in a way that would hurt his brother

[zemnian-newcomer]

shoutouts to Essek Thelyss who, seven years ago, didn’t have friends, barely had family (he trusted his brother but didn’t speak to him), who was cold and frustrated and selfish—who now has a family made up of his friends, who helps people he barely knows, who has reconnected with his brother such that they can rib each other without fear of the relationship souring, who has a home full of warmth and love.

shoutouts to Essek who is still awkward and abrasive at times, but who—even while living in secret—is more open and kind and willing to care.

I love him I love him

[zemnian-newcomer]

Matt describing these two opposing political forces of Marquet standing against a common enemy makes me so sad the plot of the campaign never really got invested in its region. There’s such an indication there of missed story opportunities.

[zemnian-newcomer]

YESSSS HIMBRO WITH GLAIVE REP ARRIVES! YESSSSSS

Everything about this was perfect XD