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critter-rarepair-reccs · 4 days

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We are halfway through another week, my friends, and so we have yet another recc list for you! This week, we have twelve angsty fics! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 💕

I Have Been A Fool For Lesser Things by A_Orbit (3,149 words, Teen) Pairing: Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast (Widobrave) Warnings: None

Trying to get a hotel room for the night leads to Caleb and Nott pretending to be married to each other. Fluff and angst.

Reccer Says: Amazing character voices!

Looking for a feeling that I can't remember by CatcherWrites (2,684 words, Teen) Pairing: Ashton Greymoore/Laudna Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Swearing, General Laudna and Ashton Trauma

Team Issylra are making camp by a river when Ashton and Laudna discuss how slow their hair grows. Angsty conversations ensue and they make a pact to cut each others hair.

Reccer Says: It's not too heavy of a fic but that doesn't take away from the tragic implications.

The Last Safe House in Rexxentrum by Operafloozy (13,266 words, Explicit) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Original Female Character Warnings: Unhappy Ending, Modify Memory, Discussion of Feeblemind

Five years before a group of misfits came together in Trostenwald, Astrid Beck asks a stranger to look into some potentially modified memories.

Reccer Says: It's a juicy and complicated look at how Astrid might have reacted to Bren's escape, from an outsider's point of view.

polishing the apple eris threw to shake the dead leaves down by grayintogreen (3,558 words, Teen) Pairing: Cree Deeproots/Lucien Tavelle Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Minor Character Death

A Locked Tomb fusion fic featuring Necromancer!Cree and Cavalier!Lucien and the horrifying implications of the Lyctor process.

Reccer Says: I enjoyed it!

though the scars remain by amateurwordbender (1,472 words, Teen) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve (Blumenduo) Warnings: Implied/Referenced Torture

Astrid is punished for letting the Mighty Nein escape, and she and Eadwulf talk about it.

Reccer Says: So much juicy Blumentrio angst packed in one short fic! Several of the lines in this have stayed in my head since I first read it.

Victim of Convenience by se1ze (54,243 words, Explicit) Pairing: Kingsley Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidoking) Warnings: Sex While Sick

Essek has been bailing Kingsley out of legal trouble in Rosohna and letting him crash at his towers for some time and the pair have grown close. When Essek falls severely ill, Kingsley with him to look after him. Things escalate between them, which both are pleased about. There's just one complication, in the form of one Caleb Widogast, who Essek has recently begun a relationship with and who Kingsley has been hopelessly pining after for months. Things get messy.

Reccer Says: A wonderful combination of fun dynamics, messy relationship angst, sickfic goodness, and hot sex. Kingsley and Essek are such a good pair, I love their banter. The absolutely disastrous state of King and Caleb's relationship at the start is the fic is so heartaching, with the shadow of past Widomauk hanging over them. And the recently established Shadowgast compliments both of those duos so well!!! I adore the different complications that crop up along the way and the way they're all resolved in the end. Highly recommend! Also, the two previous entries in the series are excellent, though they're just Shadowgast on their own.

His Last Night by Twistmalchik (2,617 words, Explicit) Pairing: Thorn/Vax'ildan Warnings: None

Set during the events of Kith & Kin, Vax's first kiss with Thorn leads to his first time with him. All the while, the shadow of the Shademaster hangs over them.

Reccer Says: I adore Kith & Kin to no end and I loved Vax and Thorn's relationship. This is a fun expansion of what they were able to have together during the events of the book!

Time Will Tell by DEV0URMOUS (25,639 words, Mature) Pairing: Yussa Errenis/Original Male Character Warnings: None

Yussa invites Iskamyr, a long-time friend of his from the Dynasty, on a trip into the Happy Fun Ball with him. Both are oblivious to the other's long-standing feelings for them. Pining ensues.

Reccer Says: There is no fic that demonstrates the absurdity of wizards better than this. Two hundred years!!! These idiots pined over each other for two hundred years!!! Oh my god! It's great, it's so great. They're both 1200 years old (Yussa is a dragon and Iskamyr is consecuted) and they're still terrible at feelings. But also! A lot of it comes down to cultural misunderstandings, like Iska doesn't know until the fic ends that Yussa is a dragon and if he did, maybe he would've caught on to Yussa's affection sooner. But he didn't and it took the two of the forever and honestly I love that for them.

woven of (moon)light by viciousmollymaukery (2,315 words, Teen) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: References to severe injury

After his wizards Teleport into the middle of the Blooming Grove, nearly dead at the hands of an Aeorian creature, Molly has a lot of feelings about his partners and their mysterious city in the north. Luckily, he has a simple solution in mind.

Reccer Says: It's the perfect balance between sweet and angsty. I love Shadowidomauk so much and it's fun to see someone look at how the wizards Aeor expeditions might look in a world where they're dating Molly too! Also, Moonweaver cleric Molly is too damn perfect, I love it so much.

it's 3 am (I must be lonely) by Meridas (1,024 words, Teen) Pairing: Queerplatonic Mollymauk Tealeaf/Yasha Nydoorin Warnings: None

Yasha has a nightmare while out camping alone. She calls Molly in her panic and he comforts her.

Reccer Says: I love this series so much and this entry in particular has stuck with me since I first read it!! QPP circus kids are kind of everything to me and this is just such a perfect little snippet of them; they’re hurting but they love and take care of each other above anything.

I blame it on my own sick pride by MarsBar2019 (11,918 words, Explicit) Pairing: Fjord/Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast (Widofjolly) Warnings: Non-Consensual Voyeurism

Fjord overheard Molly and Caleb having sex one night and gets off on it. But paper thin inn walls work both ways, Molly and Caleb know Fjord heard them, and they take the opportunity to invite him into their bed.

Reccer Says: It’s very very hot and Fjord’s self-loathing (which is only amplified by him getting off on listening to the two of them) is such a fun complimentary pairing to the overall horniness of the fic.

I'll crawl home to him by BananasofThorns (20,262 words, Teen) Pairing: Queerplatonic Fjord/Caleb Widogast (Widofjord) Warnings: None

AU where Caleb and Fjord met a few years pre-nein. Now Fjord has been taken by the Iron Shepherds, and Caleb has to team up with the "Mighty Five" to have a chance to get him back.

Reccer Says: Looove that Iron Shepherds arc angst. Plus queerplatonic widofjord, and the *devotion,* like Caleb was willing to go in there after him *alone,* aaaaa

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

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Spring. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Jester Rarepairs and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Alternate Universes and Hurt/Comfort! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

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

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

#widobrave #ashton x laudna #astrid x oc #cree x lucien #blumenduo #shadowidoking #thorn x vax #yussa x oc #shadowidomauk #molly x yasha #widofjolly #widofjord #critical role #cr fanfic #critter rarepair recc lists

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survivingcapitalism · 4 months

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White trash. The phrase conjures up images of dirty rural folk who are poor, ignorant, violent, and incestuous. But where did this stigmatizing phrase come from? And why do these stereotypes persist? Matt Wray answers these and other questions by delving into the long history behind this term of abuse and others like it. Ranging from the early 1700s to the early 1900s, Not Quite White documents the origins and transformations of the multiple meanings projected onto poor rural whites in the United States. Wray draws on a wide variety of primary sources—literary texts, folklore, diaries and journals, medical and scientific articles, social scientific analyses—to construct a dense archive of changing collective representations of poor whites.

Of crucial importance are the ideas about poor whites that circulated through early-twentieth-century public health campaigns, such as hookworm eradication and eugenic reforms. In these crusades, impoverished whites, particularly but not exclusively in the American South, were targeted for interventions by sanitarians who viewed them as “filthy, lazy crackers” in need of racial uplift and by eugenicists who viewed them as a “feebleminded menace” to the white race, threats that needed to be confined and involuntarily sterilized.

Part historical inquiry and part sociological investigation, Not Quite White demonstrates the power of social categories and boundaries to shape social relationships and institutions, to invent groups where none exist, and to influence policies and legislation that end up harming the very people they aim to help. It illuminates not only the cultural significance and consequences of poor white stereotypes but also how dominant whites exploited and expanded these stereotypes to bolster and defend their own fragile claims to whiteness.

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critter-genfic-events · 4 months

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Canon Divergent AU Recs!

This week, we have canon divergent AU recs! A dozen different what-ifs to explore below the cut - and as ever, if you like them, remember to comment or kudos!

Catch A Falling Star by Rainydaydecaf (32921,Mature) Warnings: Feeblemind Pairings: Beauregard Lionett/Yasha Nydoorin, Essek Thelyss & The Mighty Nein

The Nein find a feebleminded Essek down in the sewers along with the beacon.

Reccer says: It's got a great spotlight on each of the Mighty Nein as they interact with the feebleminded drow - from Fjord babysitting him and Kiri to Beau giving him a haircut - and feels true to the characters and the world

pressure cracks by BananasofThorns (10271,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Fjord & Caleb Widogast

Fjord is a student at Solstryce Academy. Professor Ermendrud requests a private meeting with him.

Reccer says: It's got echoes of Fjord and Caleb's dynamic in the pirate arc, combined with scourger Bren

The Star and the Wildflower by devil_seabird_king (ShaaKi) (8173,Teen) Warnings: suicidal thoughts Pairings: Caduceus Clay & Essek Thelyss

A young Essek is becomes friends with a young Caduceus Clay

Reccer says: This is a combination that doesn't get enough love, so it's fun to imagine what they'd be like as childhood friends

A Whisper On My Shoulder by EssayofThoughts (251169,Mature) Warnings: Major Character Death Pairings: none

Percy's not the only member of his family to survive the Briarwoods' attack. He's just the only one to do so alive.

Reccer says: A true epic that imagines Cassandra as a ghost by Percy's side throughout the initial parts of Vox Machina's journey. Amazingly well thought out

some ever after no one could predict by QueenWithABeeThrone (15343,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Leofric/Una Ermendrud

Over thirty years ago, Una Ermendrud went into the Feywild and met a satyr named Garmelie. thirty years later, Caleb reunites with his godfather.

Reccer says: I love how practical Una is in this, and how that practicality cuts through the feywild magic.

both my broken hands are true by quothhh (1805,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Veth Brenatto & Caleb Widogast

In a world where Yeza was taken by the goblins instead of Veth, Caleb and Veth manage to meet anyway.

Reccer says: It's got some killer lines and also a great example of the Caleb and Veth friendship

watch my back, and keep the blade by jadeandquartz (3553,Mature) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death Pairings: Orym & Imogen Temult

Laudna permanently dies. Imogen and Orym head after Otahan for revenge

Reccer says: An amazing bit of angst

You Think You Can Rid Yourself Of Me So Easily? by sparklegem (3724,Mature) Warnings: Hurt no Comfort Pairings: none

Percy's cursed weapon is not as easy to get rid of as they think.

Reccer says: I liked it

to know that this war was winless by quanshi (burningdarkfire) (834,Teen) Warnings: none Pairings: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast

Beauregard meets Bren for lunch

Reccer says: I love scourger Bren vs. Beauregard fics, and this is a lovely little taste

The Fool and the Soldier by mare_astrorum (200,000+,Mature) Warnings: None Pairings:

Mollymauk Tealeaf survived the Mighty Nein's encounter with the Iron Shepherds on Glory Run Road, but a short time later, a spirit began hunting him, claiming that he stole his body.

Reccer says: One of the most insane things Matt dropped during the wrap-up was where the campaign might have gone had Molly survived. This is such a wonderful exploration of the concept of the Tombtakers as reoccurring enemies and Molly still with the party that is wonderfully IC, extremely detailed, and a lot of fun. It's going to be a long one and it's ongoing, so buckle in.

Magic Jar by Anonymous (3211,Teen) Warnings: none Pairings: none

The mighty nine, if Caleb was a soul in a magic jar

Reccer says: It's a fascinating premise and an amazing thing to think about

you'll let it go by pigflight (1590,Teen) Warnings: major character death Pairings: Delilah Briarwood & Laudna

What if Delilah convinced Laudna to take the shard?

Reccer says: wonderfully angsty and delicious

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

Next week, we're featuring your featuring explorations of grief, in all forms. It'll also be a day late, as next Monday is Christmas.

After that, we'll Pike Trickfoot, mysteries, and then monsters.

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!

#critical role #critter genfic rec lists #gen fic #bells hells #the mighty nein #vox machina #caleb widogast #veth brenatto #percy de rolo #essek thelyss #caduceus clay #fjord stone #beauregard lionett #mollymauk tealeaf #laudna cr #orym of the air ashari #delilah briarwood

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raeynbowboi · 6 months

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What Is the Best Party for a Necromancer

With enough time and preparation, a Necromancy Wizard can create a small army of powerful undead, but I got to wondering: what party formation does the best job at supporting the Necromancer's undead horde to reach its maximum potential? So, that's what I'm seeking to do. To create a party of 4-5 characters that best empowers and emboldens the Necromancer's army.

WIZARD SCHOOL OF NECROMANCY

The star and most likely the official team leader of the party, the Necromancy Wizard is the focal point of this team composition. With their 6th level feature: Undead Thralls, the Necromancy Wizard adds their Wizard level (6-20) to each undead's hit points, and their proficiency bonus (3-6) to each undead's weapon attack damage. This means that the Necromancy Wizard makes the strongest possible undead thralls in the game. At 14th level, the Necromancer can place any undead under their control with Command Undead. This gives the Wizard the ability to gain a free Wight, a high CR undead like a Nightwalker, or even notable villains like Acerack, Vecna, Strahd Von Zarovich, or Sylas Briarwood. Intelligent Undead can make saving throws, but a simple Feeblemind can take care of that pesky detail.

PALADIN OATHBREAKER

The Oathbreaker Paladin was chosen because of their 7th level feature: Aura of Hate. Any undead within 10 feet of the Paladin adds the Paladin's Charisma modifier (1-5) to all weapon attack damage. At 15th level, that Aura expands to 30 feet. Not only can this stack with the Necromancy Wizard's Undead Thralls feature, making undead near the paladin stronger, but the Paladin does not need to be the one who created the undead. So the Oathbreaker can lead the undead into battle on the front lines, while the Wizard stands further back sniping enemies with cantrips and low level spells. Unfortunately, only one Aura of Hate can effect a single undead, but in theory, one Necromancy Wizard with 3-4 spaced out oathbreakers each with a 10 or 30 ft aura can effectively organize your undead army into tight formation battalions. But there are other good allies to have in the game.

CLERIC GRAVE DOMAIN

We want the Grave Cleric for many reasons. Firstly, they get a lot of necromancy spells, so while their horde won't be as strong as the Wizard's they too can create a horde of undead, making an even bigger army. Their Channel Divinity: Path to the Grave makes it so that an enemy is vulnerable to the damage of the next attack that hits them, which sets up nicely for the Oathbreaker to lay down a devastating smite, or the Necromancy Wizard to ensure a fresh thrall from their Finger of Death. Sentinel at Death's Door can be used to nullify critical hits, which can keep not only party members, but even undead minions from being obliterated. The wizard's Wight that controls 12 zombies is probably an asset you don't want to risk losing, so having a way to save that valuable asset is useful. And, should the Necromancer forget to reassert control over their horde in time, the Cleric's Destroy Undead feature can help the party mow through the bodies.

DRUID CIRCLE OF THE SHEPHERD

I know, I know. A Shepherd Druid and a Necromancy Wizard in one party is a DM's nightmare, but there's a reason we're choosing this subclass. It's not the animal summoning, it's the Totem Spirit. See, the Totem Spirit radiates an aura in a 30 ft radius. And that aura bolsters as many creatures as you want within that aura. Meaning that not only can the shepherd provide aerial support with swarms of ravens and buzzards, but that aura also applies to the Wizard's undead horde. The Bear totem grants the undead Temporary Hit Points, and the Unicorn Spirit makes it so that when the Druid heals anyone outside the aura, they're also healing every creature inside the aura. While they can't target undead creatures with their healing spells, the aura's healing factor does not exclude undead, allowing the Druid to heal a party member, and in doing so, heal every undead within 30 feet of the totem spirit. The fact that the Druid can summon a stronger horde of animals is just a nice little cherry on top. There's also nothing saying you can't reflavor your animal army as being undead animal corpses with DM approval to fit in with the necromantic themes.

WARLOCK FATHOMLESS PATRON

This is the least useful of the five, but it does have its uses, so while it is the most expendable of the options, there are reasons to use it if you have a five man party. At 6th level, the Fathomless Warlock gains the ability Guardian Coil. Their summoned tentacle can defend a single ally creature, reducing damage the creature takes by 1d8, or 2d8 at level 10. At 14th level, Fathomless Plunge can be used to teleport the Warlock and up to five other creatures to any source of water within 1 mile. The Fathomless Warlock, The Shepherd Druid, and the Grave Cleric can cast Create or Destroy Water, and a puddle is a source of water, letting the warlock teleport fresh undead to the front lines, or move injured undead to the backlines. If the Druid has their Unicorn Totem, this can be a useful way to teleport party members or important undead like Wights to the Totem's aura, and giving the party ways to move important creatures. The teleported creatures also do not need to be near the Warlock, they simply need to be able to see them within 30 feet, allowing the warlock to give the undead horde greater mobility. Make your patron Davy Jones, The Captain of the Flying Dutchman, or the Eldritch Lord of Shipwrecks to keep on brand with the themes of undeath and necromancy within the party, tying yourself to those lost to watery graves.

SPELLS AND SYNERGY

The core spells of Animate Dead, Create Undead, Danse Macabre, and Finger of Death can be used to create undead thralls. Wizards get all four spells, while the Cleric only gets Animate Dead and Create Undead. Oathbreakers also get Animate Dead, but only get up to 5th level spell slots. Warlocks can learn Animate Dead through an Eldritch Invocation, but only once per long rest, and only at 3rd level. Warlocks also learn Danse Macabre and Finger of Death. They also get Create Undead, but can only cast it at 6th level.

Both the Warlock and the Wizard get access to Negative Energy Flood, which can be used to heal an undead, or to damage a living target. Like Finger of Death, a creature killed by Negative Energy Flood rises as a zombie.

Aura of Vitality is a spell for Clerics, Druids, and Paladins that creates a healing aura within 30 ft of the caster. The spell's text does not exclude undead from benefitting from this aura, however only one creature can be healed with a bonus action. While this isn't super useful given it only heals one creature, the Druid using this spell to trigger their Unicorn Totem every turn with a bonus action does make this more useful, as you're able to heal the undead army multiple turns in a row while only using one spell slot. And unlike Healing Spirit, the initial healing can also be applied to an undead. The only caveat is that the healing needs to go a creature outside of the unicorn totem's aura in order to trigger the healing. Luckily, the Totem does not have to be within any given distance of the Druid, which gives the Druid more flexibility in their positioning.

Every creature that can be created with Animate Dead and Create Undead (Skeletons, Zombies, Ghouls, Ghasts, Wights, and Mummies) are immune to Poison damage. As such, AoE spells that deal Poison damage, such as Cloudkill can be dropped on top of your undead horde without harming them, but harming any living enemy near them. Your undead can also attempt to grapple foes, holding them in the Cloudkill, preventing them from leaving as they suffocate. The Necromancy Wizard is the only member of the party that can learn Cloudkill.

Both the Grave Cleric and the Druid can learn Antilife Shell, which pushes living creatures away from the caster, while allowing undead creatures to move through the shell harmlessly. This can be a great way to keep Strength-based enemies at a distance. Unfortunately the shell is not a proper force field, as weapon and spell attacks can still pass through, so this is not a way to protect the Wizard. It only keeps melee-ranged threats at bay.

BALDUR'S GATE III

While we can't recreate this team set-up perfectly in Baldur's Gate III, we can still do a weaker version with four party members: TAV as a Necromancy Wizard, Astarion or Karlach as an Oathbreaker, Shadowheart as really any Cleric subclass, and Wyll as a Fiend Warlock with a Pact of the Tome. The Tome will allow Wyll to cast Animate Dead and Create Undead, Tav and Shadowheart will also be able to create undead, and Astarion or Karlach will be able to use their aura of hate to strengthen those undead thralls. It's not as good as what we built above, but short of mods, it's the best we can do. It doesn't really matter who's what, this is just an example of a party composition. Astarion could just as easily be the necromancer and TAV the Oathbreaker, you could have Gale as the Necromancer, or Lae'zel as the Oathbreaker. What really matters are the classes. The Cleric can still clear any undead that turn on the party, the paladin still bolsters the already stronger undead, and every member of the party is pretty much able to make equally strong undead, the Wizards undead are just juiced up to the max.

#necromancy #necromancer #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #dnd #dnd 5e #wizards of the coast #undead #grave domain #oathbreaker #circle of the shepherd #fathomless warlock #wotc #dnd fifth edition #dnd 5th edition #critical role #baldur's gate 3

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wetcatspellcaster · 5 months

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If it’s not [REDACTED] material you plan on covering further on in Pieces, would you mind talking about why Hemlock is so jealous of Rosalie? It seems like every time she’s “on screen” she’s making some sort of jab at Rosie concerning either Astarion/Rosalie’s past relationship, or Astarion and Hemlocks (insinuated?) carnal activities, but hardly anyone ever comments on it. Like poor Hemmie practically spat the fact Astarion comes to her bed in Rosalie’s face during Chapter 12 in front of Shadowheart but no one acknowledges that she’s constantly trying to make Rose upset with this info. Is it just the power of the Ascendant that Hemlock is drawn to and makes her wish she was on Rosalie’s level (in Astarion’s eyes), or is it the bond between vampire and spawn that makes her act like this?

Hey anon! Thank you for the question! I'll try to answer you as best I can without spoilers :)

Firstly, the reason no one ever comments on Hemlock's behaviour or the buckwild things she says is because.... they all find it kind of cringe :') In my mind, by this point in the timeline, this party and Tav have encountered Gortash, Orin, Cazador, Raphael, Mizora, the Emperor's bullshit... not to mention any villains Rose encountered in her post game life, and in Avernus. They've had their fair share of villain speeches! They're used to it! They feel like water off a duck's back at this point! It's easier to simply not acknowledge it, than engage.

(Rose talks about the social energy it takes to interact with evil people in another fic I've written, she's just like "more than anything, it's exhausting to act like I value their opinions and pretend I care".)

Hemlock also thinks her and Rosalie are fighting over an Ascended Astarion... they're not. Rose doesn't want Ascended Astarion. So when Hemlock's like, "yeah, did I mention we fucked", Rose is just like "...and? you and every other person in that house. happy for you, i guess?" Like yes, it does sting a little in the sense that it shows how much Astarion has changed... but it's kind of missing the real mark? And most of Rose's friends know her well enough to know that, but especially Shadowheart, who walked round that awful dungeon with her.

That being said, Rose is more petty with Hemlock when they're alone and no one's there to judge her, but that's more because of the Feeblemind than anything.

As for Hemlock's motivations, it's unfortunately a mixture of all of the things you list above. Astarion's spawn are all people he recruited post-Ascendency, so all of them buy into his spiel to some extent. Hemlock, in particular, is a person who was already evil-aligned before she became a vampire. She was promised a lot of power and a position of supposed equals (where have we heard that before?) I do think, if she doesn't have feelings for Astarion, or may now have started to reach a point where some of the sheen of this hot, all-powerful vampire man has been tarnished, she does at least want the peak ascendency romance: the glamour, the debauchery, and the power that comes with it (she is, essentially, a Tav that picks all the pro-evil plan lines in the dialogue tree and means it).

Instead, she's forced to live a circumscribed and domesticated life, because of some girl she's never met, who Astarion waxes lyrical about whenever he has a free moment to pause for breath. In Chapter 13, I reveal that all the spawn have to live according to Rose's dictate of 'no harm' - notice that Astarion enforces that perfectly on all the people he can literally command, meanwhile he is the only person with freedom in that situation, and he can act however he likes and keeps 'messing it up uwu'. He thinks he's being 'good' and doing vampirism 'well', but what it actually is is just hypocrisy, and a way to continue to exercise power over those he controls, to some extent. Hemlock is someone who actually wants to be an evil vampire, or even a Cazador, and can't, because she's not given the free will with which to do so.

So Hemlock has this mixture of 'I am actually in love with this man and want what he promised me'; or 'I was in love with this fantasy and now I'm facing the reality, after having sold my soul, and even if I hate it here now I'm trapped, I want to find any way to salvage this so I've got to continue pretending he's right'; 'I fucking hate this woman who I'm constantly compared to and can never live up to, even though, to my mind, she sounds fucking stupid'; ....AND then there's the bond between vampire and servant. Hemlock tells Rose that she's already under orders not to displease Astarion - I fully believe that order has been in place for a long time. This Astarion words commands and orders in a way that means the spawn have the illusion of cooperation and free choice, which basically means he makes the spawn complicit in their own oppression. He'll say something like "because you've upset me, you should go to the dungeon cells and starve yourself and not move, while you think about what you've done" - that's still, to all intents and purposes, an order (especially when you're already under orders not to displease him).

Hemlock says a lot of what she says to Rosalie because it's easier to hate the woman who 'ruined her life' and 'prevents Astarion from reaching his full potential', rather than examine anything too closely and realise she's ruined her life herself. If she stops buying into the vampirism she chose, she's fucked bc it's not like she can leave it, so better to hate anything else but being a spawn.

It's just also unfortunate, that she thinks the way to hurt Rose is to brag about sleeping with Astarion. But then, the only version of Astarion Hemlock has ever known is obsessed with sex, so why wouldn't she think the woman who loves him wouldn't be as well?

I hope that makes sense! Sorry, this ended up being very long!

#asks #anons #wip: pieces still stuck in your teeth #I'm not sure if Hemlock feels like a consistently written character but tbh she just has the same cognitive dissonance as an act 1 astarion #so like... spawn 'how dare you try to save me. i dont want to be saved' syndrome. only she hasn't admitted any of what she has is trauma.#but this is then coupled with the fact that she's evil aligned. so it's hard to want to give her free will when part of her baggage is:#'but what if i want to commit atrocities :((((((('#hemlock tag

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lego-man-speer · 6 months

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Who Were The People Calling for Rudolf Hess's Release from Spandau Prison?

Having been found guilty of charges one and two of the indictment at the Nuremberg Trials, Rudolf Hess was sentenced to imprisonment for life. As we all know, Hess was doomed to die in prison, and had succumb to death on his own terms by committing suicide at the age of 93 on the 17th of August 1987. You may think that the idea of freeing Hess wasn't a particularly popular one, and that those who were in favour of it were most certainly Neo-Nazis. Well, this wasn't completely the case. In fact, many supporters of freedom were anti-nazi, and believed in freeing him on grounds of compassion. This post will explore support for Rudolf Hess's release through the years until his death.

In order for Hess to be released from prison, all four allied nations (UK, US, France and USSR) had to agree. The Soviets were the only nation opposed to freeing Hess.

The British government had supported the release of Rudolf Hess as early as 1956. In total, the UK made 11 unilateral attempts (along with 9 more from the French and US governments) to have Hess released from prison, however, the Soviets refused to budge in their belief that Hess should die in prison.

Pleas for his release on humanitarian grounds were made by UK politicians from the Conservative and Labour Parties. An appeal was also drafted in the name of Margaret Thatcher. The following read:

“There is to my mind no justification for keeping Hess in prison any longer. He is 88. He has been in prison for 40 years. He has been without the company of other prisoners for over 16 years. Humanitarian reasons demand that no one should be treated this way.”

Debates were also made in the House of Lords regarding the imprisonment of Rudolf Hess. A quote from Hansard on the 9th of February 1967 from Lord Robertson of Oak-Ridge said:

“Twenty one years have passed and all the others have gone. They have died or have been released on completion of their sentences. He alone remains, feebleminded, useless, dangerous to nobody. He is kept there still. It is pointless; it is inhumane.”

Support for his release even grew in the German government. In 1986, former German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, addressed and sent letters to Ronald Reagan, Francois Mitterand, Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev (the respective leaders of the allied nations) , in which he wrote:

“I urgently appeal to you to mercifully release the prisoner into the bosom of his family. I believe that a pardon for Rudolf Hess is a dictate of humanity.”

His lawyer, Dr. Alfred Seidl was making appeals for his release as early as 1947, but these were always vetoed.

Outside of government, support for Hess's release was growing, and that was in the form of the Freedom for Rudolf Hess movement, a campaign that had begun in 1967 (not long after the release of Albert Speer and Baldur von Schirach) by Hess's son, Wolf Rüdiger. He started a petition calling for the release of his father. It had started at 700 signatures, but by 1974 had reached 350,000. In the book The Loneliest Man in the World, Eugene Bird claims to Hess that including those that signed this petition were lawyers, judges and even Nobel Prize Winners. He also tells Hess that there had been a movement set up in the US Congress to have him freed.

A little side note to this: Karl Dönitz had in fact attended one of the Freedom for Rudolf Hess meetings. As shown here. These images were taken in 1975. Hess's son, Wolf, is in picture number 2 (Taken from an old blog @/eternalvonschirach).

These calls to have Hess released would however fall on deaf ears. The Soviets insisted on him dying in prison. Their justification was that Hess was still an unrepentant Nazi, a man who still believed in his innocence. They were still unforgiving for the flight to Britain, in which they were firm in their belief that Hess wanted peace with Britain so Germany would not have to face a two front war.

And so Hess would die alone in prison, as the 'loneliest man in the world'.

#reichblr #rudolf hess #spandau prison

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aeor-is-for-reccing · 1 year

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Shadowgast Recs: Featuring Astrid or Eadwulf

This week we have nine recs for fics that feature Astrid and/or Eadwulf behind the cut! Don't forget to comment or kudos on the stories!

Hard Mouth by road_rhythm (216254,Explicit) Warnings: Generally dark, torture, author chose not to warn.

While the Nein are in Aeor, Trent uses the dream spell to invade Caleb's mind. Things get worse from there.

Reccer says: The writing is extremely vivid and the story engrossing, but I also adore this version of Astrid

More Things than Heaven and Earth by kaeda (76998,Mature) Warnings: None

Caleb and Essek find themselves transported to what appears to be the plot of Tusk Love.

Reccer says: The fic starts off as a romp but consistently chooses to allow all of the characters a surprising amount of depth. Features a great Astrid and Eadwulf

Neighborhood Watch by timbrene (2800,Teen) Warnings: None!

Astrid notices a disguised Essek has set up residence at Caleb's home and sets out to investigate what he could be plotting.

Reccer says: Astrid and Eadwulf are both perfect in this, especially Astrid; her certainty that "Bren" is getting manipulated by this Dynasty elf who's definitely a threat to national security is such a funny messed-up Volstrecker twist on being concerned for your friend. It's heartwarming and will put a smile on your face.

look forward lest the past catch up by iniquiticity (11328,Explicit) Warnings: None

Astrid saves Essek from an assassination attempt, leaving him with a newfound appreciation for his own life.

Reccer says: There's just something about a near death experience that makes you want to go desperately make out with your sort of boyfriend, and this fic really captured that.

do you have enough love in your heart, to go and get your hands dirty? by SaltCore (4355,Mature) Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence (offensive dunamancy), mentions of torture

Getting Bren out of a tight spot forced you into uncomfortable company, Astrid. As his friend heals him, take a little time to think about one member of the Mighty Nein, the one who helped, the one you trust the least.

Reccer says: This is a beautiful example of the "Astrid and Essek hissing at each other like angry cats because they're both concerned about Caleb" genre. The prose is gorgeous and very vivid, Astrid's POV is cutting and feels so much like her. All the characters are perfect. Highly recommend it.

you are what we could've been by vagabondfirelilly (2744,General) Warnings: None

Caleb lets it slip that he is married to Essek, while in the presence of his former lovers.

Reccer says: Very bittersweet, it's lovely to think about Caleb and Essek being married, but between the fic being written from Eadwulf's perspective, and the reaction this revelation illicits from Astrid, there's a real sense of pain and loss from what could've been.

The Annual Rexxentrum Cat Show by hanap (776,Teen) Warnings: None

Four wizards engage in many shenanigans to try winning the prestigious Annual Rexxentrum Cat Show.

Reccer says: It's fun! All four of this group really show off their wizardly competitive spirit in this fic, and it's a delight to read.

Cultivate a space for the things that hurt you most by PryingBlackbird (102212,Mature) Warnings: Main-character death (gets resurrected), Trent Ikithon, Blumenkids backstory

Astrid, Caleb, Eadwulf and Essek are complicated people who each battle their own demons. Their pahths keep crossing during this alternate retelling of late C2.

Reccer says: It creates a narrative of late C2 that features Astrid and Wulf more heavily and also has some nice Shadowgast slowburn. Also so much angst. The ending is a good one and a bit different from the campaign.

I'd hate to put us up against yesterday by joldiego (1485,Teen) Warnings: Feeblemind

Caleb and Essek show up at Astrid's place badly hurt; Essek under feeblemind

Reccer says: It's a very promising start, and I love the Astrid point of view

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast.Have any questions about what this is?

Check out the FAQ! Next week’s theme is Wild Magic!

#Critical Role #Shadowgast #essek thelyss #Caleb Widogast #astrid beck #Eadwulf Grieve #CR fic #Critical Role Fic #Fanfic Recs #CR Fic recs

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