#i have so many feelings about nott/veth

[piratespencilart]

I’m going to cast Disguise Self, and turn myself into looking just like a normal halfling little girl, and spend an hour at a cafe just having lunch.

Just being a normal person.

(I can’t stop thinking about this moment...)

#i have so many feelings about nott/veth #nott the brave #veth brenatto #critical role #cr2 #c2e16 #cr fanart #fanart

[piratespencil]

I’m only halfway thru c2e68 but I’ve already gotten to the iconic Nott and Yasha “killed my whole family, throw you under a bridge” conversation AND Beau and Caleb having a heart to heart about Caleb’s feelings towards Nott ever since she reunited with Yeza….. This is a Very Good episode.

#caleb feeling. so strange about his relationship with nott #being happy for her but not knowing how he fits into her life anymore #if he should treat her the same as he used to #if they were too close before #if that was inappropriate #ahh GOD i have so many thoughts about this conversation #and also the nott and yasha conversation. pure gold #watched an animatic of that convo before i started c2 and it’s one of the things that made me want to get into cr #iconic #critical role #cr2 #c2e68 #nott the brave #veth brenatto #yasha nydoorin #caleb widogast #widobrave #kk talks about stuff #kk watches cr2

[all-thestories-aretrue]

Ok the three way rock paper scissors was funny.

Caleb "i know three ways and this is not how you accomplish them"

#critical role #mighty nein #cr2 #cr2ep104 #omg they took a bream because they couldnt stop laughing #i was cleaning my hamsters cage and adding some more enrichment to it during the last half of 103 and the first part of 104 #i also sent like a 10 minute video to my friend who is watching c2 #shes behind me #somewhere in the 80s ready for the fighting pit!! #we were talking about caleb and agency #and the conversation with astrid #and she was asking if she should start c3 or c1 next #so i gave her the rundown of both of them #and threw in calamity as an honorable mention #she also complimented my analysis of nott and said i made her see nott #and no one else is really seeing nott #i have so many feelings about nott!!! #and i dont think veth's story is over with yet either #yeah she changed back but all of her problems are still unresolved #i was also thinking about caleb while i was in the shower earlier and it made me sad #this bright young hopeful boy off to study magic only to be manipulated and abused for years and then told to murder his parents #and he complies #and like replace that with astrid or wulf and its the same #how horrible #and such an effective method #so many feelings about caleb always #i just want someone to hold him #also i gave my hamster btw i named her dahlia #i gave her more of these seeds she really likes and she shoved ALL of them into her little cheek pouches #it was adorable

[sldlovescartoons]

I’m just going to put this out there because I was going to write a proper fic but it’s look like that’s not going to work out so I just want to ramble about some ideas for a bit. For the purposes of this little post, I’m just sort ignoring anything that has happened in campaign 3 and things attached to the plot line, mostly becayse we don’t know where going to happen in the end yet. All things said here just sort of assume none of that all happens. Just in case.

So, at some point in time, Essek comes to a sort of realization that he’s… being stupid. He can’t effect real change to atone for his wrongs as a transient on the run from the government. It’s just punishing himself, his friends, and his boyfriend, and he doesn’t want to do it anymore. He wants to get Transmogrification cast on him, but he’s worried that he still might be caught, the people who would seek him out have magic to look in his mind if they suspect his new form. They might need to fake his death.

And then Caleb is like: well, we don’t have to fake it at all.

Because Caleb has a copy of Clone. And so a plan is made, they’ll grow a new Essek, make a spare spell book, and a new spell book to match the his new identity they are crafting, and when the year is up, the Nein will turn Essek in for treason. He’ll get executed, and once he wakes in his fresh pod body, they’ll escort him to the spell circle to start his new life.

The comedy potential in the planning stages for his new identity and form is great. Angst too.

After Essek picks his new name, he starts to insist they start to call him by it almost exclusively, and the Nein don’t want to, that seems weird. Essek’s insistence that he’d only had the name Essek for 30 years, he was barely used to it in the first place, it was no big deal and den members change names all the name because for many reasons, it soothes the M9, but also creates more questions. Like what was your Child Name, huh, hot boi? (He refuses to tell them as a point of pride. His child name was so silly!)

He and Caleb work very closely on his new form and there are disagreements:

On the angsty side: Essek puts forward that with some light modifications and a higher level of casting, they could also give the target the lifespan of the chosen race over the original. They could make him a human in his 30’s and they could spend the rest of both of their lives together. He doesn’t care about living a long time, just being with those he loves and atonning for his sins. Caleb refuses vehemently, that’d be paramount to killing Essek with his own hand and he refuses to do it. He makes him swear that he won’t do anything stupid when the Nein are all gone. He almost calls off the whole thing.

On the funny side: We have Essek, who as a member of a noble den had a through sex education that throughly covered gender and tried to prepare the young drow in early schooling that they could be in, or one day be in, a body much different from theirs. They try to ease they into the idea that might someday give birth, or might have already done so in a previous life. Gender and Body Dysmorphia are covered throughly. Gender is kind of bullshit to him. His form is kind of bullshit. He was acquainted with the fact his body might not always be or have been what it is at a very young age. He is largely unconcerned with how his new form will make HIM feel, he’d get used to it easy. He wants to know what Caleb would like.

Caleb, on the other hand, is trying to reduce body and gender dysmorphia as much as possible after his experience getting to know Nott/Veth. He’s trying to figure out how close they can get to the original without getting caught. To make it easier for Essek to adjust.

Caleb has absolutely no idea how to deal with Essek suggesting giving his new form a much larger penis (because he knows Caleb is a little bit of a size queen) or intersex body configurations (because Caleb likes both, right? He could very be both. He had some cousins that seemed very happy that were intersex or nonbinary.). He turns him down, explains why, but that doesn’t stop Essek’s brain train.

So naturally, when Essek asks if Caleb wants biological child and suggests they could just make him a woman if he did, the other man absolutely loses hugs shit and chokes on his tongue in shock. In take a long time to calm him down and the drow’s assurance that it wasn’t a big deal, he had a soul sibling (he actually used a weird drow word, but that’s what it meant) that his father gave birth to when he was woman and his mother was a man, they married into Den Mirimm to strengthen Den relations! Happened all the time! Did not in fact help Caleb much, he had several questions.

Just a lots of Essek taking the whole much less seriously than most of the Nein because of his upbringing.

They end up make him a male elf roughly his age with very tan skin. They make up a whole amnesia story, Fjord and Jester pretend to find him washed up on shore. They wait 4 months him and Caleb to ‘start dating’ and two months after that to move in, claiming a ‘whirlwind romance’. They are married within the year. (Because fuck them breaking up because of lifespan angst, that’s bullshit and I refuse to entertain it lol.) They get to be happy together and make the world better as a pair, a unit, and Essek continues their various cause they’d taken up well after Caleb dies an old man.

#critical role #cr2 #the mighty nein #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #shadowgast #rambling #headcannon #cr headcanons

[peach-the-owl]

Cuddles

Mighty Nein & Child!Reader (Child of the Nein)

*Crawls out of the void* I still live… *drops post and crawls back into the void*

Jester

You are always eager for cuddles and Jester is just as eager to return them, sometimes the two of you smiling goofily at each other while trying to see who can squeeze the other the tightest (usually Jester wins, but you get a victory every now and again). Other times you both just snuggle together, enjoying the moment of relief from adventuring.

On days when you’re usual enthusiastic attitude is nothing but a distant memory, so to speak, is when extra special cuddles are needed the most. Jester will sit with you, slowly bringing you closer to her as a way of asking if you were okay with it. When you lean in accepting the hug she’ll pull you onto her lap and hum a tune her just like her mother used to while gently petting down your hair in a comforting way, this usually leads to you falling asleep to which Jester will give a kiss to the top of your head.

Nott/Veth

It’s not that you don’t like cuddles, it’s just you’re not used to them, especially when you first met Nott. She was very understanding of this and took the time to help ease you into the feeling. Even now after all this time you’re still slightly hesitant about it but defiantly more eager to curl up next to her for some R&R.

There are days where even though your past is behind you and you’re a brand new halfling, you still feel like that icky runt of a goblin you used to be. Veth is quick to catch you when you’re like this and jumps right into mom mode, letting you curl into her for extra comfort while she makes sure you know that despite everything she still loves you for who you are. Her comfort and reassurance always helps ease your frantic mind.

Caleb

You love hugs and cuddles, Caleb does not, or at the very least he’s not the most open to them. There were two great ways to get them from him though, the most common was to steal Frumpkin as a substitute, the cat purring and rubbing against you while you happily snuggled into his soft fur. The other way was when Caleb polymorphs into an animal, giving you the chance to still snuggle into warm and fluffy fur while also enjoying Caleb’s company (he’s also extra protective of you like this but shhh, that’s a secret 🤫).

The rare off days where you’re the one feeling down are different. At first Caleb just lets Frumpkin handle it, after all the fey cat has helped him through many tough spots. With time and the more Caleb opens up he’ll approach you himself, offering to read stories to you or use Dancing Lights as that’s your favourite spell and especially the way he shifts the glowing orbs around easily helps brighten your mood once again.

Caduceus

Who were you if not usually soft and gentle, figuratively and literally, so naturally you’re always one to enjoy a comforting cuddle and Caduceus is always happy to share a cuddle with you. You’ll sit together and lean your head against his chest, smiling up at him while he contently smiles back, most of the time you’ll have a nice warm cup of tea to go with it, just adding that much more to the comfortable atmosphere between you.

It happens more often then you’d like where your thoughts will sour your mood, locking you in the past and spiralling into what if scenarios. A gentle hand on your shoulder pulls you away from it, and a comforting squeeze fulling brings you back to reality where Caduceus is waiting with a fresh pot of chamomile tea for the both of you. You don’t say much as you sip on your beverage, you don’t have to, he understands you need that space for yourself. He’ll offer you reassurance while you snuggle into his side, wrapping his arm around you that, in a way, helps protect you from those sour thoughts coming back.

Fjord

You’re not one to jump at an opportunity for cuddles but you don’t mind them either. Fjord would argue you actually very much enjoy cuddles, but it’s usually when you’re sleepy but feel too stubborn to fall asleep right away. There are multiple times you’d force yourself to stay awake so you don’t miss something important with the Nein, only for you to curl up against Fjord and end up passing out anyways. He doesn’t mind in the slightest, he likes that you feel safe enough with him to fall asleep.

When you’re having a bad day you’re not exactly willing to say something right away, you’ve gotten better at it over time but there are still days when you just get really quiet and standoffish with everyone. Fjord will almost immediately catch on to what’s happening and check on you, if you need a bit of space but don’t want to be alone, he’ll sit with you until you’re feeling better, if you’re looking for some comfort Fjord will happily lift you into his arms and hold you in a safe and secure grip until you’re back to your usual self again.

Beau

You’re indifferent when it comes to something like cuddles, you don’t hate them but you don’t care much about them either. What you usually do is give Beau a gentle punch to her arm as a sign of affection, she’ll do the same back at ya and you both call it a day.

It’s rare but there are days were you just feel down, your mind almost forcing you to wonder if you were ever good enough for anyone, you usually try to take your mind off it by distracting yourself with training. It’s not long for Beau to notice you’re quiet and sad demeanour, she’ll get you to sit next to her when you take a quick break, wrap an arm around your shoulder and gently pull you into her side. Depending on how upset you are will depend on if you’ll get Beau to also draw small designs on your arm too, defiantly helps you feel better after some time.

Yasha

You’re not the most open to touch, maybe the occasional hug here and there but you don’t initiate it. It’s not that you don’t like them, you’re just so used to keeping your distance with people that you almost feel a bit uncomfortable with it. Yasha doesn’t mind this, of course, she’s about the same when it comes to hugs and cuddles but with time and lots of patience you’re both more open to it, you still don’t seek it out for yourself though.

More often then not you’re caught up in your thoughts, part of you wanting to seek out Yasha for a bit of comfort but the other part of you doesn’t always know how to go about it. Thankfully Yasha has become very good at reading your emotions and is understanding when you need to work things out for yourself, she knows you’ll come to her when you’re ready and even though you fumble through your words she’ll wait for you to finish explaining yourself before offering you the comfort you’re looking for.

Molly

You love cuddles, simple as that. Someone wants hug, you’re happy to offer. There are times you take a running start towards Molly, making him drop whatever he might be doing at the time to catch you when you jump at him for a quick cuddle before letting him finish what he’s doing. It never bothers him when you “sneak attack” him like that, he finds it fun and great for keeping himself aware of his surroundings, win-win all around.

The literal second your emotions get you down Molly notices, your usual upbeat attitude suddenly disappearing never sits well with him. It’s one of those rare times where the Nein, aside from Yasha, will see Molly’s softer, more caring side show itself. The normally eccentric tiefling now calmly and quietly holding you, brushing a hand through your hair to soothe away the bad thoughts that dare tired to enter your brain.

#critical role #critical role & reader #mighty nein #the mighty nein #mighty nein & reader #jester lavorre #jester & reader #nott the brave #nott & reader #veth brenatto #veth & reader #caleb widogast #caleb & reader #caduceus clay #caduceus & reader #fjord #fjord stone #fjord & reader #beauregard lionett #beauregard & reader #yasha nydoorin #yasha & reader #mollymauk tealeaf #mollymauk & reader #nothing romantic here

[revvethasmythh]

That Specific Take TM is part of what led me to stop watching critical role entirely. Wouldn’t go so far as calling myself a “stan” of Nott, but I adored her. And I adored her progression into being comfortable with being Veth. But it feels like people see what they want to see far more than they see the character that’s been portrayed… TLDR I sympathize entirely, it’s kind of miserable to know so many people dislike characters you find very compelling for how they are portrayed simply because they are misinterpreting that portrayal at a rather fundamental level!

I actually do not think a take like that stems from dislike! Misinterpretation, yes, but misinterpretation is not always connected to disliking a character. Like, as many insane and wrong takes I've seen about Orym that have popped up during c3, the OPs of those posts often do not necessarily dislike Orym (at least, so they say). They just have a particular perspective that is not, uh, correct if you actually engage with the textual evidence. I think re: this take in particular, it really does come from a sense of disappointment that the dynamic between Nott and Caleb didn't maintain course, that the Veth reveal did irrevocably alter the dynamic.

Which--okay, there's a lot going on with that, and I think people who were overly attached to the "dynamic" over the individual characters involved tend toward Caleb-specific fans (hence how he's the listless sad boi of the post, the queer neurodivergent guy, while Veth is cast as a flat perfectly happy straight neurotypical woman (that was painful even just to write, but that is what the post is positing), and ignorant of all of Caleb's sad boi feelings--which of those descriptions is going to be more relatable/sympathetic to your average tumblr user, you know?), and if you were to track fandom engagement with Nott as a character, I feel like you would find a significant drop-off of investment in her after the Veth reveal. Because she yelled at Caleb, she altered the dynamic, her story separated from his story, she moved away from him narratively, and when the focus was placed more fully on herself and her character details, I suspect a lot of people drifted away from her. Because Nott was Caleb's funny sidekick and qpr and loving mother all rolled into one, and it's just not the same if she is a married woman, a mother, with goals of her own that may--and do--cause her to shift away from her very tight relationship with Caleb. In the eyes of a lot of people, she was there to serve at the altar of the dynamic, and her role was to support Caleb. Breaking the dynamic is a cardinal sin--it's similar to the way some people react so weirdly to the Nein all splitting ways after the finale. There's that deep attachment to The Dynamic, the Found Family, that rifts and conflicts and alterations to the dynamic are distressing to people and they'll come up with similarly incorrect metas full of projections and act like they're canon as a reaction to that.

So, instead of "dislike", I think perhaps the better word to sub in there is "disinterest." If people cleave so strongly to the original representation of the dynamic, when alterations to it are made they are disinterested in letting themselves be invested in, think deeply about, and care for the new dynamics created, because they're too tethered to a thing that was already lost--OR never really existed the way they're imaging to begin with.

#also I'm sorry bad take like these made you drop the show! #stepping back from fandom can sometimes be necessary to really enjoying the media #I was lucky to have about 85-90 episode of the second campaign to watch on my own w/o fandom before getting involved #which I think was overall a good thing #but even with the current campaign if you have the right people on your dash who you can talk to and agree with #it makes the bad takes feel a lot more like background noise. annoying background noise yeah but stuff you can ignore ultimately #anyway I hope this response was on topic because it kind of felt like I was but also like I was not I really can't tell #oh also re: wondering if fandom engaged less w/veth after 47--that's speculation #informed speculation but I--as previously stated--was not involved in the fandom at the time #so I'm not sure exactly how it shook out when those eps were airing #retrospectively I think it is true that people are less interested in veth than they were with nott though #which is where my point stands #anon #asks

[grayintogreen]

WIP WEDNESDAY

I thought i wasn't going to have anything for YCDHN that wasn't spoilery, but I was WRONG (aka I finished something today), so have some Veth and Caleb!

-

Caleb put the mansion up in the parlor of Kindunos Keep and left everyone to scatter to their own devices. Molly and Yasha had pulled back from everyone in the aftermath, despite Molly’s insistence that there was nothing either of them had to be ashamed of beyond his frustrating act of martyrdom in the King’s Cage. He had dismissed it as the two of them needing time alone together to heal from an experience only the two of them (and Lucien, presently off with the Tombtakers) understood.

Exhausted and drained, Caleb collapsed in the study with Frumpkin scarfed around his neck. He bent double in his chair and rubbed his cheek against his cat’s fur and contemplated the floor until a pair of dainty halfling feet appeared in his eyeline.

“Well, we won,” Veth said, casually. He looked up into her eyes and saw the relief and weariness there.

“For now. We will be going to Cognouza soon.”

“I don’t wanna think about that tonight.” She crawled up into the chair with him and he shifted to make room for her so that she was squeezed tightly between his skinny frame and the side of the chair.

“Would that I could,” he replied, dismally. “I cannot stop thinking about it. Or Trent, for that matter.”

Veth frowned like she’d just been reminded of something- like a rock in a shoe that you only noticed when you stand up. “That boy back in Vergessen…”

Caleb squeezed his eyes shut. “That was a mistake.”

“No, it wasn’t. He almost killed you because you hesitated.” She laid a hand on his chest, twisting so she could look at him. “He tried to kill you, so you retaliated. It doesn’t matter that he was just a boy.”

“He looked just like me.” Caleb dragged his hands down his face. “We were the same and I could do nothing. I could not convince him that he was making a mistake.”

Her fingers fisted in his shirt. “You can’t force people to change their minds, Caleb. It’s not your fault if they don’t listen.”

It didn’t feel that way. It felt like the continued existence of the Volstrucker program was entirely his fault because he had run instead of trying to meet Trent head-on, focused so much on the past that he let the future stagnate. Instead of helping those like him, he had blown them up and that led to this new batch of young eldritch knights. Trent had to have known what he was doing when he selected his new army. They were built specifically to combat the Nein. That was, objectively, his fault. Had he not killed most of the Volstrucker, there would be no need. No matter which victims he picked out of Trent’s collection, he felt responsible for all of them.

“I could have done more,” he whispered.

Veth swung around so that she was standing on his lap, her boots digging painfully into his thighs. She gripped his collar and dragged his face up to meet hers. There was a cold fury in her eyes, rimmed by the bright aquamarine of the spirals around her eyes. “Listen to me, Caleb Widogast. I need you to look me in the eye and promise me something right here, right now. We’re going to run into those kids again and I know how much it hurts- I saw my boy in him too- but they’re killers. We don’t have to slaughter them, but I won’t let you stand down and let them slaughter you because you blame yourself for them existing.”

He’d forgotten how easy he was for her to read. He blinked at her, lost in the brown of her eyes the same way he used to get lost in the gold of Nott’s eyes. The same woman stared back at him no matter what. Gods, how he loved her.

He pulled her into an embrace, sending Frumpkin shifting slightly to make room for her. He would have wept, but he was too tired too. “You are too good for me, Veth the Brave. I have half a mind to send you back to your husband. You do not need to keep going. There are so many following us as is.”

“And we need all of them, including me.” She pulled back, just as he started to feel the dampness of her cheeks. Subtly, she wiped the tears away. “I thought about it. I thought about asking for just a night with them- one night before the end of the world.” She sighed. “But I can’t do that to them. I can’t give myself over for one night and then go back to this. I promised Yeza that the next time I saw him, I wouldn’t walk away again.”

The proof that she was going to eventually leave him hurt more than it should have, especially knowing how badly he wanted her safe. No more mothers burned up to leave their sons bereft- he would not see that boy grow up with an ache and a resentment in his belly that might lead him towards darker dreams. Caleb Widogast, consummate selfish bastard, could guilt with the best of them, but he also wanted it all. He wanted Veth in his life and he wanted her with her family. He wanted his friends safe and free of him and his poison but he needed to be around them. He wanted the Empire and wanted it to grow without his claws sinking into it. He studied at the school of contradictions and all it ever did was make him feel muddled and listless.

He would feel better when he had a task. This break was necessary, but if he didn’t keep moving, he would die. That was how it had always been.

Veth was tired. She needed this to stop. Above all else, including making sure Molly was liberated from the Somnovem and never had to worry about being something he’d never asked to be, he needed Veth to get back home to her family. It was not a statement about his love for Molly so much as it was a testament to how intense his love for her was. It was no different than how Molly was with Yasha. “I will promise you that I will not falter if you will promise me something.” He cupped her hands and rubbed the teartracks from her face. “If things begin to turn. If it becomes too dangerous where we are going… You must let me send you back home to them. I will save a spell for it.”

She looked like she wanted to say no, but the thing that made her and Caleb so close was a mutual selfishness. Her only compromise to what she wanted versus what she believed she was meant to say was to let it hang there for a moment, like it was a more difficult choice than she knew it was going to be. “I promise.”

#wip wednesday #cr fic #cr fanfic #you can't deny high noon #my writing

[essayofthoughts]

interesting! without spoiling anything, are you thinking of the possibility of restoring tiefling!percy to his original form?

I've been talking with @blorbologist about that a lot! Because the thing is, I don't think Percy would ever be anything but horribly dysphoric about a body he was forcibly changed to and that he does not identify with. A body which inherently and permanently marks one of the worst mistakes he believes he ever made and which he cannot escape. I think he has days that are easier to bear than others, but I don't think he ever really thinks of his horns or tail or claws or fangs as his - they're always the horns or the tail or the claws or the fangs, always held at a remove.

And that kind of means his entire life sucks if he isn't able to change back!

Now, until Caleb comes up with the spell to help Nott/Veth I don't think there really is anything that'd do that permanently aside from Wish and given Percy's distrust of magic at the best of times, let alone something that phenomenally powerful being cast by Scanlan... I am inclined to say he is hesitant to say the least.

Not to mention the fact that, as a member of Vox Machina and a member of the leading council of Whitestone he is a well-known and prominent tiefling. He is an example against bigotry towards tieflings and likely a source of hope for some! And Percy is noble; as he says after Scanlan leaves, none of them are solely their own people - they are inherently tied to those around them and expectations. The presence of the public eye has a hugely limiting effect on what is acceptable for him to do.

He could change himself back once the spell is available - but what would that mean for and imply to those tieflings who've looked up to him as a prominent, positive role model? If he'd turn himself human again? The implicit suggestion that he has always been ashamed of himself and that, if he was, they should be too. That question he has to weigh - is his comfort worth the negative effect it'd have on uncounted people? And Percy doesn't think highly of himself as an individual. He thinks plenty of himself as a de Rolo, as a member of Vox Machina, but he also kind of hates himself a lot, and likely even more in this AU? Why would he believe he deserves something kind and good when as he is he can help so many others?

So I think if he does change himself back to human it is at the urging of Vex and his children - especially his tiefling children - and not so much himself. I think he dabbles in the idea a little, using Alter Self coins from Tary (which would likely startle the hell out of Vex the first time) - but again, I think he'd be very hesitant to do that once he and Vex have children, because what kind of message is he sending to any tiefling children of his if he chooses to take human form sometimes? If he rejects being a tiefling like that? I think that's a conversation he has to have with each of them at some point (and maybe I've been noodling with a lil fic chunk for that maybe).

But yeah. I'm not decided yet on if he does turn back to human but I'm very sure that he wants to and has complicated feelings about whether he's 'allowed' to.

#percy de rolo #vox machina #tiefling percy au #tiefling au #burr-ell #burr ell #ask

[zemnian-newcomer]

It's late in the evening, I'm tired, I have work early tomorrow, this will not be coherent, but I have Thoughts about the beginnings of C2 and C3 and how they differ structurally that will not be contained so here I go.

(This got long so I'm putting it under a read more)

Obligatory disclaimer that this is not a judgement of the quality of either campaign in any way, I absolutely loved the Mighty Nein and am liking Bell's Hells a lot so far (I'm up to episode 30, so no spoilers past that please)

So right from the start, C3 felt much more fast-paced and more... densely plotted, I guess, than C2.

The Mighty Nein in their early days travelled together, but felt like they could have fallen apart at any time. It took until around the 20 episode mark for me to feel like they had grown together enough for it to hold. (Ironically, that was immediately put to the test with the Iron Shepherds arc.) Contrast that with Bell's Hells, who felt like a much more cohesive group from the single digits.

A lot of it, of course, comes down to the characters. While Bell's Hells as a group are a bunch of weirdos, there aren't actually that many "strong" personalities among them, which the Mighty Nein were full of. Think about Beau clashing with both Molly and Caleb, Nott/Veth stealing from Fjord, Fjord holding a sword to Caleb's throat, Caleb acting without communicating, Molly generally being more of a shit-stirrer - with Yasha not being there most of the time, one of the best team players they had was Jester. Meanwhile Bell's Hells generally get along pretty well. The closest thing to actual conflict within the party so far was probably Chetney not liking Dorian, and even that got better within a few episodes.

On the other hand, the plot (as far as I can see it) of C3 involves the characters a lot more than the starting plot of C2. The early Mighty Nein took quests/assignments, but they didn't have much to do with them personally until the Iron Shepherds (and, well, the guy they got some of the assignments from turned out to be Jester's father, but they didn't know that at the time). What eventually turned into one of the bigger plots was nearly just one encounter in the sewers of Zadash. It didn't involve them, they involved themselves. The plot of C3 so far (and from what spoilers I've seen, also going forward) involves several of the characters on a very personal level.

There is also a very big difference in character drives and motivations. Several of Bell's Hells have a mystery or problem they're either curious about or actively trying to figure out, which means they're very likely to bite on plot hooks that seem to be related to that mystery or problem. Meanwhile most of the Mighty Nein were actually running away from their shit, and it took months of in game time for them to grow enough to face it. (Molly being the exception in that he, in a way, successfully ran away from his shit and left everyone else to deal with it.)

Which is what leads me to why I actually made this post, the way different characters' backstories and motivations get weaved together and into the bigger picture. As of episode 30, Orym, Imogen, and Fearne all have an immediate connection to the Ruidus storyline, with Orym and Imogen having followed this thread together for a long time since figuring out that their individual quests led them on the same path.

I don't really have a point to this, it's just cool to see the different ways a story can be built in DND, with C3 so far being a really elegant way of tying character motivations together and using them to further the plot, while C2 was more of a lesson in having the characters lead the way and building the story off of their actions.

#critical role #mighty nein #bell‘s hells #I've veen writing this post for over and hour and really need to go to bed #really it's just rambling without an actual point to it #just. stories. and how they can be told in different ways. #it's just cool man #alright off to bed with me

[weaveintheends]

My friends have called Sam Regiel a class clown: very funny but doesn’t know when to stop. And I agree. But he sure knows how to use his humor to the best advantage.

In Campaign 2, episode 11, Nott is under a spell, talking to Fjord and skirting around Veth’s backstory while dropping fun pieces here and there. And when Nott says, “[Caleb] could change all this” while waving at her face, you know that he thought he was so cool because he had the whole table listening intently. Soaking in the indecipherable clues.

And then Fjord says, “I understand… I didn’t always look like this,” and in that moment, the character drops. Sam says, “What?” And you can see the gears whirring as he pieces together how Fjord could have the same backstory.

When Fjord clarifies, “I was a kid, just like everyone else,” Sam visibly deflates in what is probably relief and realization, but now he’s shown a hand by his surprise and his reaction, so he has to do something quick. He drops a couple quick jokes, still processing the moment, then asks about Fjord’s pictures. The table laughs. Travis makes a Myspace joke, and no one notices Sam’s slip up.

He so good at deflecting the hidden truth at the table with humor. We’re all on to him at this point. None of us trust the way he’s play FCG because of so many times he’s turned us around and sent us in another direction with a well placed joke.

All this to say, I have too many minute feelings about Critical Role. Someone save me from my hyperfixation.

#sam regiel #c2 tiny moment break down #cuz I’m a NERD #Sam Regiel do not read this or you’ll get a big head #critical role #dnd #nott the brave

[autumnslance]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#final fantasy xiv #lyn prompts #characters #crossovers #aeryn prompts #dark prompts #punchy prompts #iyna prompts

[piratespencilart]

Do you ever just make yourself really emotional thinking about the journey that Veth went on to love herself and her body???

#i have sooooooo so many feelings about veth and her relationship with her body #her whole journey is about the self. the body. self-love. #you know????? #anyways i just wanted to draw her looking cute & peaceful #critical role #cr2 #veth brenatto #nott the brave #cr fanart #fanart #artastic april #id in alt text

[piratespencil]

Just sitting here quietly losing my mind over c2e71.

Every moment of seeing Nott and Yeza and Luc being a family. We’ve seen Nott being the mom friend but we haven’t really seen her be a MOM until now and it’s such a good look at who Veth was and who Nott is and how those two are similar and different.

Nott finally, FINALLY going to Caleb and laying it out for him. She wants him to change her back. She believes he can do it. She believes he can kill her, if he has to. She loves him - she says it. I love you. And Caleb loves her too - he doesn’t say I love you but he says he’ll do everything he can to change her, to help her, of course he will. And he doesn’t want to lose her but he can’t imagine why she’d want to leave her husband and kid, her happy ending, now that she has it.

But it’s not just about her husband and her kid. It’s about feeling right in her body. It’s about her own sense of self, and she’s worried that she’s selfish and she’s wrong, but she has Caleb there and Yeza there telling her she’s not selfish, she’s not wrong for wanting to go with the Nein. She’s so strong. She’s amazing. They love her.

God. I love her. This was such a good Nott episode.

#everything between nott and jester about the flask and the drinking these past few episodes has been killing me #and then this epaiode DESTROYED me #i have so so so many feelings about nott #critical role #cr2 #c2e71 #nott the brave #veth brenatto #kk talks about stuff #kk watches cr2

[demigoddessqueens]

Could I please have some Mighty Nein x transmasc!reader who is feeling dysphoric?

Oh yes, of course!!

Caleb and Essek - they know of each other’s struggles and losses, but they also know that it doesn’t mean they have to give up love and the good things in life. And that applies to you too, as they constantly reassure you. That you are entitled to love, and deserving of everything good

Fjord - he may not be the best with words but he is used to the sea and has a bit of an idea. He took you out sailing one day, speaking highly of the ocean but always acknowledging and looking at you when he talked. A natural beauty that is a raw, powerful force of nature

Yasha and Beau - you are never allowed to say bad things about yourself in front of them!! Yasha thinks you’re more than beautiful for the flowers grown and Beau rattles off your best qualities in her most blunt way. “You’re smart, a kickass, better than any I’ve met on the road”

Kingsley/Mollymauk - based on what was his life, he’s had many identities and went through the highs and lows one couldn’t comprehend. And he still thinks you’re braver than him.

Cadeuces - ever the calm one who is there ready to listen with a cup of tea. He’s a great listener and as you pour your heart out, he just nods solemnly and refills your cup. When you’re done, he offers his kind, yet fierce, calm words that leave you misty-eyed yet also encouraged

Jester - joy incarnate would be relentless in her attempts to be encouraging and trying to cheer you up. In doing so, she likes to use a dessert analogy in that you are so sweet on the inside and loved by all

Nott/Veth - she knows EXACTLY what you’re going through and the Mom mode™️ is turned on. She wants you to tell her your full story and in sharing, she builds you up and you feel a solidarity with her in both of your experiences

#critical role #inbox request #headcanons #the mighty nein x y/n #the mighty nein x you #the mighty nein x reader #the mighty nein #critical role x y/n #critical role x you #critical role x reader #transmasc #trans!reader #cadeuces clay #beauregard lionett #yasha nydoorin #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #jester lavorre #fjord stone #nott the brave #veth brenatto #mollymauk tealeaf #kingsley tealeaf

[bardly-working]

👀👀👀

TW for torture cause it's time for Caleb to feel super guilty!

This is Caleb's reaction to Beau and Veth calling for Essek to face justice after they see him on the ship in episode 99. This is what Caleb's thinking about after that wildly uncomfortable conversation.

"He's a war criminal, you know," Beau had said, so full of casual disdain. As if Caleb was not. Caleb knows he was never terribly upfront with most of the Nein about the things he did for Trent.  He was… oblique.  Purposefully vague.  He didn’t want to see their faces when they found out the man they were traveling with was a sadist and a torturer, of the same ilk as those who’d kidnapped Yasha and Jester and Fjord so many months ago.  But Beauregard and Nott— or rather, Veth.  They knew.  They knew.  He told them, even if he’d been sarcastically nonchalant about it. A few months of studying, of a little bit of torture, a little bit of murdering dissidents and traitors and deviants. They knew. Executioners, Beau had called them.  But she knew it was more than that.  It was worse than that.  N- Veth did as well, from her terror when she found Yeza taken and thought the the Assembly was to blame. “Your people,” she’d called them, once.  She knew.  She and Beau, they knew better than all the others what he’d done.  To his parents.  Fjord knew as well, now, though not the details.  But he knew enough to.  “I keep an eye on you when we're around these people,” he had said, only hours before he’d been gutted, stabbed through the chest on the deck of their ship.  “I have no idea what they're capable of or what the signs are.” It made Fjord's silence during the conversation about Essek… well, Caleb appreciated it.  At least that he had not been so readily calling for his execution.   But N— Veth.  And Beauregard.  Their voices demanding Essek’s blood had frozen Caleb’s own. There were things authorities in the Empire were allowed to permit in terms of interrogation.  Certain measures that, while perhaps unethical, were at the very least approved of by King and courts.  What the Assembly did superseded all of that.  What the Assembly had him do had nothing to do with law, little to do with gathering information, and everything to do with dominance and fear.  With supremacy. A quick rap of a chisel into the kneecaps or shins, the shattering of bone Reeds beneath the fingernails, breaking fingerbones, especially on craftsmen Scalpel to the tendon behind the ankle or inside the elbows, careful of arteries  Do not ignore the stomach in a beating, no, nor the genitalia Branding or burning the soles of the feet “Don’t cry, don’t cry, if you are good, perhaps we will help you to walk again, ja?” Of course he didn’t tell them everything.  But they knew.  They knew.  They had to...

send me a 👀 and I’ll post a snippet from a WIP that I never got around to finishing this year.

#caleb widogast #cr fanfic #critical role #everyone likes to focus on the parenticide but no one really talks about the several months of torturing innocent people

[tenobelisk]

Warning: these critical role opinions may be a little spicy if you think liking star wars and funko pops makes you nerdy. sorry, that was a jab. im just going to talk about critical role stuff for a bit to get it off my chest. spoilers for seasons one and two will follow.

so, i love the fact that sam will do characters that are not built to please anyone. in season 1, scanlan's storm-off was fantastic. he called them all out and i loved the timing of it. nobody gets to be comfortable for long, things are not perfect, im not the 'funny little guy' anymore. it's the most real shit to bring to the table each season in a different way, and i have no idea if anybody else feels this way about sam's characters but just bravo.

so, also, i really didn't like the policing of Nott's behaviour in season 2 vis-a-vis drinking and killing things, nor did i like veth at all. shrug. it got to the point where i felt nott was being curtailed and suppressed out of some real-life moral code bleeding into the game. veth seemed to be a normalisation and the death of nott. which seemed a mercy killing at that point. i dont like it when a character loses their fire even if its for Morally Good Reasons.

an aside: i loved how nott's husband accepted her goblinity. that couldve gone on for longer, i enjoyed matt's representation of the role and the dynamic between them. oh well. caterpillar, butterfly, etc.

the controlling of purse strings and behaviour checking going on also bothered me especially when it was followed by unchecked indulgence under 'approved' circumstances. do we all have to lean toward good and 'fix' whats wrong with us? what's with all the policing? maybe i've just been around too many controlling people and comfortable white middle class Game Enjoyers not to see it glaring brightly and wonder why anyone else isn't rattled by it. great, so you aren't bothered, doesn't mean its a good thing to soak in.

speaking of blurring cast and character boundaries, im still sad about orion in the beginning of season one, but i understand why it ended the way it did. i am okay with frantic unmanageable types in games like this, even if they make me uncomfortable sometimes. maybe it had to go that way for him to help himself in a less messy way than escape and misbehaviour.

of course i now know there were real-life incidents behind it that had rattled everybody. that definitely needed to end, but it was difficult to watch even though i've watched it twice now, minute-by-minute. but they're real people who react to problems imperfectly. that's 100% okay. just don't expect me not to file it away for later.

so after this many-years long roller coaster i'm reeeally trying to get into season three.. but the southern accents and smell the fart acting is making it real hard for my attention span. i've seen improv troupes kindof coast off of memes and crowd comfort and venue clout enough times to understand that its just nice to sit and be part of the show. the thing has a life of its own and enough work went into making it that way. the thing we are most familiar doing can sometimes become what we do to wind down, rather than what we do to power up. maybe that's what happened, or maybe it's just me. i am bummed it is not grabbing me as much as the past seasons but i will still drop in every now and then and give it a try.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #team nott #stinky bandage crew