#just like m9.....

[itseghost]

some essek portrait doodles :] still figuring him out but i do love 2 draw him

#essek theyless #the mighty nein #critical role #critical role fanart #critrole #cr2 #m9 #i wanna experiment a little more w him still bc i cant settle on a face #or a skin tone? i feel like i always make him more purple than i want. i think more a dark greyish indigo would suit him #yknow. he might just be a character i draw different every time. im okay with that #i do like the idea of him with these very styled waves though #at least until he starts to unwind around the nein a bit #itseart

[shorthaltsjester]

the mighty nein - critical role

this is a place where i don't feel alone. this is a place where i feel at home.

#also with softer vibes. i offer They #every silly little brainheart found family deserves a to build a home edit #the mighty nein maybe most of all. thats my family #also the lyrics deliciously well suited to m9. #when jester pulls that. stupid tarot card for fjord. home or traveler. and there's a carnival wagon. and veth says Thats Us! . them #i just think about . the tower is their home the xhorhouse is their home the lavish chateau is their home the balleater. the mistake. #the nein heroez. veth and yezas apartment. the dome. fjord and jesters living room floor. #a bar with a silly name on rumblecusp #also like. the song has stone and dust imagery. gardens and trees. #the inherent temporality of life and love and how that holds no bearing on how greatly people can love. im losin it okay. #ive been making this edit for days straight with my computer screaming at me for trying to shove 143 episodes of cr into a 2min20sec video. #crying becuase. theyre a family do you get it. they were nine lonely people and most of them had given up on seeing their own lives #as something that might be good. something that might make the world a better place. and in the end they're heroes. #and it doesn't matter if no one else knows because They know they're heroes. and they wouldn't've believed that was true when they met. #rattling the bars of my enclosure. to be loved is to be changed #posted on twitter and want to get in the habit of posting here too bc. #general reasons but also bc . i have noticed some of the ppl liking/sharing it are also ppl who shit on my ops by vaguing about my posts #which is in general whatever but does leave a funny taste in my mouth. #critical role #the mighty nein #cr2 #caleb widogast #caduceus clay #jester lavorre #fjord #veth brenatto #yasha nydoorin #beauregard lionett #mollymauk tealeaf #my posts

[your-turn-to-role]

AT DAWN WE PLAN

#im so glad that made it in there #when zanror paused in the 'at dawn... we whet our blades against the dragons hide' i may have shouted WE PLAN in the gap #i love vox machina for moments like this honestly #neither the m9 nor from what i can tell bells hells would care this much about a plan they'd just run in #vox machina were like hold up we need three business days to let percy be a weird tech freak and also get all our complicated emotions out #and THEN we fight a dragon #for those who did not watch c1 this episode was literally named at dawn we plan #cr liveblog #cr spoilers #the legend of vox machina

[danwhobrowses]

For anyone else who is gonna struggle surviving the next 3 weeks with the angsty and tense situation of Callowmoore here's a few things from the last 2 episodes that I feel were underrated and will assist in trying to keep me sane/emotionally stable: - Matching messed up hands built for holding - Fearne nervously playing with her hair as she approaches Ashton - Ashton wanted Fearne to be either the last thing they saw if they died or the first thing they saw when they succeeded - Fearne's admittance corroborates Ashley's 4SD revelation that Fearne is in love with someone in the party but doesn't know how to process the emotions - Fearne wanted Ashton to be happy, while Ashton wanted to feel whole so they would be worthy of the Hells - Ashton twice tried to lead a search for Fearne, and instantly clocking onto Chetney saying he followed Fearne - Fearne making herself look as radiant as possible before giving Ashton the cold shoulder - Ashton only rose to Chetney's provocations until he said 'You hurt Fearne' Use how you will

#godspeed my poor damaged psyche #critical role #bells hells #callowmoore #ashton greymoore #fearne calloway #fearne x ashton #ashton x fearne #strangely enough I don't enjoy having a dark and sad pit sitting in my chest day to day #3 weeks and we don't even get a cute M9 reunion in between to distract us? this was worse than Callowmoore's sistergate 3 week wait #also 'a little'? Sweetie people don't jump into lava for a little you got the big L and it's not Lesbian(s) #Feel like Laudna was a bit cruel this ep (Ash has been there for her a ton and she kinda villainized him) but we'll put it down to Delilah #much of Ashton's trauma has been overlooked or left to them to internalize but still nobody has told them that they are loved #and Ashton Greymoore needs to be told they're loved! (by Fearne) #but yeah time for more positive mental scenarios that 99% won't happen (but when that 1% does ho boy) #couldn't have just had Fearne go 'no talking' and sleep on Ash's chest to hear their heartbeat as her touch soothes Ash's pain could we? #or final fight scenarios where Ludinus is a walking harness and Ashton tricks them into absorbing their titan powers so he'd explode #they could've even had a talk in the woods because they wanted to find her so bad but was not gonna test Imogen's patience #I for one though will have at least one where Ashton seeks out Mori for advice (Fearne too but separately) #Tal I need you to use all your romantic arsenal in the feywild (Percy's worst travel experience) to win back Ashley's beautiful faun girl #bonus prompts for 'You will always be perfect to me' and 'Promise you'll come back to me' they pop up often in my scenarios #taliesin jaffe #ashley johnson

[kaltacore]

i would really like to see people appreciate beau's growth and character arc more without trying to convince newcomers that "she'll get better eventually just you wait" implying she was such an unbearable character you have to make yourself sit through her scenes. i assure you, she wasn't

#you may like or dislike any character for whatever reason mind you! i'm not arguing with that! #but her flaws are so blown out of proportion in fandom while other characters' flaws aren't treated this way at all #and i'm yet to see someone saying that caleb gets better later on. or that veth does. maybe this is also a thing i don't know #but it surely doesn't happen under all relatively popular content centered around them #also beau surely wasn't the only one guilty of being rude and picking fights at the beginning of the campaign. this is just. not true. #the way she's usually referred to as the least cooperative member of m9 #and she wasn't the one who got threatened with a sword for putting the whole party's lives in danger for her own interests. is interesting #this just. makes me sad. i really don't get why people who like her adopt that misconception invented by people who openly disliked her #and sound like they feel guilty for enjoying her character and have to beg other people to give her a chance #i got into m9 with little to none exposure to fandom opinions and honestly. it was really surprising to find out she upsets people that muc #critical role #beauregard lionett #the mighty nein

[essektheylyss]

As much as it is fun to joke about how absurd Trent's plan was (and on its face, considering just his perspective alone, it was!), I do think we need to acknowledge that it wouldn't have worked as a threat if it had not been reasonably concerning to Caleb.

When you think about how little the Nein know at this point about the Solstice (meta pigeons notwithstanding), there are a lot of factors that play into this being a credible threat. For instance:

The collars are no longer working, as are some wards, in which case it's not unreasonable to wonder if any of the Amulets of Nondetection are out of commission.

It's possible that the Dynasty genuinely does not have that much evidence to go after Essek—that he managed to fake his death and cover his trail that way, or he left well before the pressure really began to encroach, as a preemptive measure, and with him out of sight the rumors died down (or were even quashed by his mother for political reasons, regardless of her feelings on the matter).

There's no good way to know what information or evidence Trent may have stashed away in the event that it was necessary later, which could be delivered anonymously to the Dynasty and not rest on Trent's credibility.

Regardless of Trent's relative ability to capture Essek on his own, which is probably low, he is enough of a loose cannon that he could seriously hurt him simply in a one-on-one duel, because Trent has clearly gone beyond any considerations of self-preservation and is trying to inflict maximum damage, which makes him dangerous all on his own.

It doesn't have to be any one of these, but the important thing is that the plot hinges upon Caleb believing this is at least a semi-credible threat. If there really was no danger to Essek, then it would be reasonable for Caleb, who is very intelligent, to dismiss it and focus on something more important. We've seen that Caleb is perfectly capable of shutting Trent out in the face of larger priorities even when his threats were very affecting, and Caleb's had an extra seven years since then to move past that trauma.

But given that the point of threatening Essek, on a meta level, was to ensure that the plot of the one-shot moved at the pace it needed to, then Caleb needs to believe that this is a credible threat. Regardless of the efficacy of the particular plan outlined, we must be willing to believe that, if he is not confronted now, Trent will make good on his threats in one way or another.

#critical role #cr spoilers #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #m9 solstice #trent ikithon #like the point here is not that trent's plan isn't absurd. it is. #but also like. if he couldn't get the dynasty to go after essek he would just go fuckin harm essek himself. #the man is like. BEYOND help. he's fucking monstrous. he will make this happen or die trying because this is basically all he has. #also I am laughing now at the idea that deirta covered the treason up after he left #she's fucking pissed but she's also like 'well this is nOT affecting my political standing.'

[shrugsinchinese]

So I’ve been rereading the sea the stars, the dreamers by @nonwal

Space Opera! Intrigue! Jenga! If I had a nickel every time I read a fic where Astrid threw a knife near Essek’s head!

#fic recc #fanart for fanfic #there’s much more to the fic than what I’ve drawn obv especially Caleb and m9 content I just like drawing Essek hehe #the rest of the m9+supporting cast are so chaotic I love them #this is like batch 1 out of the 3 I have for this fic when I like something I obsess pretty hard #critical role fanart #eadwulf grieve #caleb widogast #astrid beck #essek thelyss #blumenshadow #sturm und drang #OTP as in One True Poly #something about the way nonwal writes these four makes my brain go brrrrr

[peachesarts]

an unfinished mollymauk 🔮

#mollymauk tealeaf #critical role #critical role fanart #the mighty nein #M9 #CR2 #i just lost all motivation for the bits left half done rip me #i like the majority of this though!!

[staticrevelations]

the early vibes of c2 were so nice they literally got out of prison and were just like "well shit where should we go" and basically picked a spot on the map and headed somewhere just for the hell of it and stuck together cuz they had nowhere better to be

#like. i love c3 and i get that all those threads thrown out at the beginning were more plot-heavy and maybe more interesting #but it was so much them chasing down dead ends and trying to figure out connecting threads and c2 starts with them just Vibing it's Nice #it's nice to switch back to watching one of them and have a fresh change of pace u know #c2 rewatch #c2 spoilers #m9 #the mighty nein #mighty nein #critical role #mine

[itseghost]

i almost want to do an expression sheet for him so i force myself to expand past his rbf. but its so easy and fun to draw him with one

#essek thelyss #the mighty nein #critical role #critical role fanart #mighty nein #m9 #cr fanart #i like the setup of these low stakes sketches same as the fearne one lol #i just get to do a chill sketch adn then color + blend mode until im bored yippie!! #gave him a lot of layers on his outfit bc of one of my favorite shadowgast fics i read recently that will affect how i draw essek forever #in the closet of our discretion by firefright on ao3 #REALLY cool worldbuilding through kryn fashion customs #im really excited to draw him in more outfits :] #itseart

[nellasbookplanet]

I just caught up with ep 63 and I'm fucking vibrating. The difference of the Bor'dor reveal and the Dusk reveal! Dusk spending their entire time with the party stirring up drama, once caught out still openly provoking and trying to find an angle to straight up kill Fearne's parents, and the party still struggling to find every reason to let them go, let them live. And Dusk never gave a shit. Why would they! They were a fey assassin! And still the Hells fought and argued for them and let them walk away despite openly remaining a threat.

And then we get Bor'dor, wet paper tissue of a man, tragic backstory up to the gills, genuinely spending time to bond with them, having his little practice session with them being his proudest moment, sharing vulnerabilities. And though he drew first blood, he did it trying to run away, not kill! He did it having seen these people murder his friends and drag their dead bodies out of the hole! He was helpless on the ground, all but begging them to end him because he saw no reason to keep going! There was enough turmoil and doubt in him that he could probably have been deradicalized! He hated them but he loved them too!

And had this been early campaign, in all likelihood they would have let him live. But this is a Bell's Hells who have already been betrayed once by an ally, who lost Eshteross to the Ruby Vanguard, who lost half the fucking party to the Ruby Vanguard, who went on a grueling journey to get Laudna back, who struggled and struggled and still failed to stop Ludinus and ended up separated and scared and not knowing whether the world is about to end or not, whether their friends are alive or not.

And they were done. They did not fight for him. This is war. Were Dusk to show back up now, I doubt they’d survive the encounter.

#cr3 spoilers #critical role #cr3 #bor'dor dog'son #dusk #i talked at one point about how c2 was all about the rewards of trust #about taking risks and being rewarded #c3 feels more like the darker side of trust and risk #sometimes you trust and get stabbed in the back. #sometimes you take a risk and your mentor dies‚ or half your party does‚ or you fail to stop the beginning of the end of the world #and you have to keep on going anyway bc it isn't over yet #i also once said there could’ve been a campaign 2 where matt leaned into the distrust and the paranoia #that it would’ve been interesting but much harder on the characters (beau caleb and fjord especially) #and i feel like that’s where laudna and orym are at right now #but bc they didn’t start out with paranoia and distrust as a core flaw the way many c2 characters did #they have better chances of learning and growing from this without being permanently damaged by it #while caleb/beau/fjord NEEDED to have their trust rewarded to be able to grow and heal #lessons in distrust would’ve split the m9 but has the chance to forge the bells hells #idk i just find it fascinating how different narratives serve different characters without eiter narrative being wrong #nella talks cr

[isuara-ez]

While the main event in terms of crossovers next week will be The No Way Home of Marisha PC’s, let’s stop and consider another possibility.

Autistic Ginger Bisexual to Autistic Ginger Bisexual communication.

#critical role #c3e50 #cr spoilers #Critical Role Campaign 3 #keyleth #caleb widogast #obviously the actual main event is you know… the party #and like wtf is up with Imogen #is Orym and Fearne’s plan gonna have to be enacted #I hope not! #but also if they do that’s spicy! #but yeah M9 and VM stuff are less important than Bell’s Hell’s and I hope audiences keep that in mind when the exact interaction they want #doesn’t happen #this is all just fan service #not the meat and potatoes #but fuck if fan service don’t work on me sometimes #unless it’s Star Wars #well it’s okay if Rian Johnson or Tony Gilroy doesn’t #this is get super off topic from CR isn’t #watch Andor it’s good!

[pleasantmsp]

I love Beauyasha so much. I miss them so much.

The reunion gave me so much joy and now I'm in this weird happy but melancholy state. I love the Nein so much and I want more of them. And I especially want more of Beau and Yasha. If we get a Fjorester wedding one shot, I will be stoked. But then also give me the Beauyasha wedding too!

I'm really just hoping they keep doing these little reunions cause I love the Mighty Nein so much and seeing them makes me so happy.

#critical role #cr spoilers #beauyasha #the mighty nein #echoes of the solstice #and the rest of the tags are a rant #got a bit carried away lol #my depression has been real bad for the past like 9 months and i dont have the money or resources to go to therapy #so i am in a real interesting head space lately #this one shot gave me so much joy #i haven't felt that engaged and excited and happy in a long time #but now that its over that feeling is being joined by (like i said) this weird melancholy that i've never felt in this way before #tm9 mean so much to me #beauyasha means so much to me #especially in these times with the strikes and all the cancelations of wlw inclusive media #i've been trying to get back into c3 but getting through those first arcs is proving difficult #bh just doesn't feel the same as the m9 to me which is fine but sad in a way #cause I feel like there's still so much the nein could do and participate in #i definitely understood what ashley meant when she said she didn't feel like she was done with yasha #i feel the same #so i hope they keep doing these one shots and i hope they release some news on the animated show soon #and here's hoping that as I catch up on bh i can come to love them even half as much as tm9 #cause that'd be enough to keep me coming back and then some

[augentrust]

i forgot the part in ep 99 where beau asks caleb if he would butt heads if they recruited another wizard and you can watch him bluescreen in real time as he pictures, montage-style, all the wizards he has both already fucked and would like to fuck in the future

#critical role #cr2 #blumentrio #shadowgast #you can just watch liam try and fail like ten times to explain #i was crying #it does beg the question of exactly when the m9 realized that caleb's type is frequently just Wizard #august chats

[malaismere]

idk if I actually want to write it, but I was thinking, ‘hm, baldurs gate three is a pretty good set up to have a character from something else be Tav’ and obviously how could I not immediately think of Jester. Mostly because Tav has big ‘everybody loves Jester Lavorre’ energy.

just. the crystal clear image of her getting upset that she’s back at level one, and yelling at the traveler about it, which everyone else goes ‘okay whatever so she’s maybe a bit crazy, we can deal with it’ and then like the first time they set up camp he just actually shows up to apologize, because this plane is making him do *paperwork*

I’m kind of tempted to restat her as a warlock for said paperwork reasons, which would mean Wyll getting to watch her make a very casual deal and having Emotions about that. And obviously Shadowheart and Gale have their own fun angst about the God angle.

#au blogging #jester lavorre #critical role au #bg3 #bg3 au #crossovers #I feel like Astarion would really like Jester (master of chaos) but idk how he’d feel about Jester (nice person) #she and Karlach are obviously immediately besties #Lae’zel I think has a roller coaster of emotions between ‘competent’ and ‘ridiculous’ that she’s having trouble processing. #the rest of the m9 are stuck away for plot reasons (can’t directly plane shift and spelljamming takes time) #am I going to make a new save just to figure out how to write this? look.

[essektheylyss]

every week I ask why they felt the need to make an ad to rival pay-per-view wrestling for movie tickets to a show that sold out within minutes, feat. the CEO doing voice work. it's literally the funniest, most iconic choice.

#WHY THO LMAO #like JUST FOR KICKS IG #critical role #m9 solstice