#volstrucker

[artofcarmen]

Caleb Widogast - The Butcher of Rexxentrum

Evil AU art of Caleb (Bren) if he was neutral evil, met Essek while he was a full scourger, and instead of healing each other, fed into their darkness and conspired to remove the rest of the Assembly and Kryn elite from their way.

#illustration #caleb widowgast #bren aldric ermendrud #cr2 #critical role #dnd #human #wizard #fire #burning #tattoos #residuum #neutral evil #villain #volstrucker #scourger #makin his way downtown #walkin fast #to burn trent alive #after destroying the candles he an essek abscond to aeor #he changes his name to Caleb Widowgast #cuz that name is sick as fuck #look at the little crystal kitty! #that he uses to cast Reality Break LOL #get it? #caleb widogast

[c-kiddo]

7jan2023 redraw of this not-so-good art from 2020 🔥✸

p happy with improvement so thats nice :’-3 

[Image ID: A gloomily lit drawing of Astrid and Eadwulf from Critical Role from the chest up. eadwulf is smirking and summoning a flame in one hand while Astrid looks forward with a dead eyed stare and a tear dripping off her chin. Eadwulf is tall and thick with olive skin, buzzed dark brown hair and maze tattoos on his bare forearm. Astrid is short and thin with pale white skin and chin length side shaved dirty blonde hair. End image ID.]

#critical role #critical role fanart #astrid beck #astrid becke #eadwulf grieve #volstrucker #cerberus assembly #cr2 #myart #2023 #... .. ..sans strid.. .. ....... with th glowy eye #described

[mendokayalways]

I’m doing a rewatch of CR C3 just cuz I’m in paralysis mode when it comes to new shit so I’m just rewatching stuff so I just realized that Predathos was sealed away due to an accord between ALL THE GODS and THE PRIMORDIALS and Team Issylra could’ve used that to warn Abedina and the villagers, who clearly hold more faith in the elemental and primordial nature of Exandria than the divine, about Ludinus and the Ruby Vanguard and their message so they would be cautious about this fucking god eater because clearly if the Primordials were scared of it enough to join up with the Gods, it was a threat to existence in general. Those people deserve to keep their faith and not be swayed into something destructive. 

AND ANOTHER THING....the Grim Verity talked about how Liliana grew frustrated with lack of answers from them until she was recruited and Otohan and the Cerberus Assembly.............which brings me back to the lightning bolt markings on Imogen and Liliana that seem to be the arcane focus of their sorcerous abilities WHICH brings me to the absolute faith Liliana seemed to have in Ludinus in the Hellcatch Valley showdown. Based on the timeline and the character’s ages, Liliana was only maybe 10 years older than Caleb when she left Imogen and her dad. She was said to be found by the “Assembly” not Ludinus specifically. But even if Ludinus was the one she directly answered to but was still within sight of other members of assembly say someone like Trent Ikithon who went on to develop residuum based arcane tattoos and experimented on children to create the Volstrucker program......am I going too red string theory or is the math mathing folks???? You decide if Trent Ikithon was inspired to conduct his experiments because of Ruidus Born Markings.

#bells hells: issylran chapter #bells hells #critical role #i hope someone sees this from the CR team and points it out to someone preferably marisha and maybe they could talk about it?? #but they already left to talk to that archdruid from hearthdell so idk #grim verity #imogen temult #otohan thull #liliana temult #ludinus da'leth #trent ikithon #cerberus assembly #cr speculation #critical role theory #volstrucker #ruidus born

[countrynerddancer]

It is nightblogging time.

Opinion for critical role: i think that calling the Blumendrei that was a missed opportunity to call them the Volthrouple.

#critical role #cr2 #blumendrei #volstrucker #caleb widogast #bren aldric ermendrud #astrid beck

[demenior]

trick or treat! for anything fealty and/or volstrucker related 🫶

i'm still working on it, but bc of this i started writing up a whole thing about the volstrucker and how i think they function/work

here's a sample

The Residuum:

I consider residuum to be, effectively, fantasy magic cocaine (yes, functionally, that’s suude, but that's made from residuum so i'm doing a same-same here). It should not be ingested, but ironically, that’s what most people do with it. Absolutely addictive.

Volstrucker are walking around with a small fortune implanted within them

They keep the knowledge of these implants secret not only to protect their identities, but to keep them from being targeted by black market operatives who would steal the residuum for resale

The activated implants function in several mechanic ways (a reskinned Bladesinger, iirc), and I’ve added a little extra in my writing. I figure there should be some really good payoffs for all of the training and getting shot up with the fantasy coke that could kill you from using it:

Rather than a 10ft boost to walking speed, I treat it like being hasted

This comes with the round of exhaustion when it ends, but! The trick is that it's not held to the 1 minute spell time, the Volstrucker can control when it ends

They can keep their implants active until the residuum is burned out, but, how much strain can their bodies handle?

Activating the implants also heightens their senses

Mechanically this would be some boost to perception checks

I write it like they’ve had a veil on, and the residuum hitting takes that away. Colors are brighter, sounds are louder, the world moves slower (because of the haste). This is all good for being alone and moving in on an assassination target.

Amplifying spells

Mechanically, what I call Amplifying allows for casting a spell at a higher spell slot, while spending a lower spell slot.

It is extremely taxing on the body and so can’t be done often (a once per long rest or smth like that)

In writing this means getting to decide to boost just how damaging your spell is going to be

Components

In a pinch the implants are expected to serve as emergency spell components. But due to how expensive residuum is, the expectation is that  Volstrucker should be carrying all of the spell components they require

Trent does not like this, but the Volstrucker discovered that you can burn your residuum at low levels (not a full activation) to push back fatigue.

This is important if you’re working deep in enemy territory and can’t afford to sleep for a few days, but need to maintain your senses

There is a price to pay on the other side—the lethargy that hits is even heavier than the usual fatigue, and often amplified depending on how many sleeps you are in deficit

By keeping the residuum “on low”, you burn through it faster

Restocking

If a Volstrucker lives long enough (5-8 years, depending), they will burn through their reserves

By this point, their body is so dependent on having residuum that if they do not get another round of implants they will go into withdrawal

This has a high likelihood of death, and so is to be avoided

In theory they could be weaned off of the residuum safely, but due to the nature of everything going on with the Volstrucker, this has never happened

This round of implants has a much faster recovery time. Most Volstrucker recover at home, with no need to be drugged as their bodies are accustomed to the excess of residuum and they can control it, so they are not expected to accidentally kill themselves

No Volstrucker has lived long enough to need a third round of residuum implants

#i approach dnd stuff as #oh neat fantasy!!! #and then remember i have to convert it to mechanics #which... i don't often do lmao #critical role #volstrucker #i will be adding in the extra details i've carved out for the fealty au #in which it should be noted that eadwulf has been a volstrucker #for roughly something like 14 years #hes ANCIENT in scourger years

[saribrum]

Vee and her backstory NPCs!

From left to right we have Vee (originally known to the group as Victor), Charlie, Foxtrot, Glyph, and Juliet. They were in a group called Project Primordius, and were a mesh of elemental genasi (plus one hellfire Tiefling) and were a branch off of the Cerberus Assembly, under the Volstrucker. This is them all now, but back when they were children, none of these kids were treated like anything other than soldiers and experiments. It was a rough existence for them all, with a lot of bloodshed and anger. Most of them were forcefully taken from their families when they were younger, all of them were taught that society would only ever see them as monsters, and that’s partly why they stayed. That and it was all they ever knew.

Now in our game, Vee is doing everything she can to help them. She was rescued from the facility, but she will always feel guilty for getting out when they couldn’t. Fox and Charlie have proven to be good allies to the Fabled Few so far, Juliet seems a bit on the fence on whether she is friend or foe, and Glyph is just a straight up bbeg to us right now. Only time will tell what happens with these maniacs. I’m excited to see it all come to a head.

#inktober #repostober #drawtober #drawlloween #genasi #tiefling #Wildmount #dnd5e #cerberus assembly #dwendalian empire #Volstrucker #my art #fabled few

[electromagnetic-moss]

rewatching c3e61 and it feels like judicators are just the vasselheim version of the volstrucker

#critical role #vasselheim #volstrucker #bells hells

[gaawachan]

Critical Role Season 3 Spoilers: Ludinus, the Cerberus Assembly, Cults (this is negative)

So, is the Cerberus Assembly, a massive part of the government of the Dwendalian Empire, a country which has been historically the MOST HOSTILE to religions IN GENERAL but hates the evil culty shit in particular and very actively works to stamp said cults and non-approved religions out completely and has a hyperfocus on “empire over all”... is it just a cultist character generator for Critical Role at this point, randomly sticking evil entities to each member?

Briarwood and Vecna

DeRogna and Cognouza

Vence Nuthaleus and the Angel of Iron

Daleth and Ruidis

.

This is incredibly disappointing considering how much Daleth was hyped up, and makes me all the more irritated that that situation with Trent was stuffed so clumsily into the final episode of season 2, because apparently he was the only villain to come out of the Cerberus Assembly that isn’t an eldritch cultist and actually had something to do with the nature of his government, his country, his culture, his class, etc.

The Cerberus Assembly in-lore is the hyper-competent threat that represents the spine of the Empire’s might, so powerful that many suspect it will simply take over the Empire given enough time, but in execution they come off as a total joke that for all their hyped up secret magic child soldier/spy/torturer/murderers that are constantly on the prowl looking to catch and kill , cannot seem to vet ANYONE even remotely close to a position of power, not even assembly annexes.

What’s next?  Is Hass worshiping Asmodeus?  Is Iresor working for Tiamat?  Why hasn’t the Dynasty crushed these losers?

The worst part is that it almost feels like a compliment to say that Matt might just not have wanted to toss out Ludinus as a villain when CR cut short season 2, so he just tossed him in with the primary conflicts in CR3 so he could stick around, because at least then one could just dismiss this as Matt’s desire to keep Ludinus relevant (even though NO ONE in the party of CR3 cares about the Cerberus Assembly or has any meaningful connection to it or Ludinus), and he just didn’t realize that he’s made almost every single Assembly head we’ve seen in the show a freaking cultist... because the alternative is to say that Matt deliberately planned, for years, for over a third of all the Assembly heads to be cultists... of DIFFERENT CULTS.

How can anyone take the Cerberus Assembly, or the Empire, even remotely seriously at this point, in any respect, be it worldbuilding or even just what sort of threat they are supposed to pose?  I’m looking back over this and it reads like some wonky comedy. Maybe Bertrand Dwendal assigns a cult to each assembly head as a reward for reaching that rank? “You get a cult, you get a cult, everyone gets a cult!”

And the Volstrucker, who are trained to specifically sniff out those who don’t follow approved religions, didn’t notice a thing?  This just makes these hyped up terrifying force look completely incompetent... AGAIN.  Or even worse!  They DID know and deliberately participated in covering it up, which would for all intents and purposes make the anti-religious cult-hunting Volstrucker all active supporters of these cults as well!

The M9 should have just let the Dynasty burn Rexxentrum to the ground.  Clearly nothing of value or interest, in-game or out of it, would have been lost.

.

Edit: I mean... good lord, Ludinus originally inserted himself into Empire politics and helped create the Cerberus Assembly because it “suited his own personal agenda/goals,” and I’m over here like... really?  Of all the countries to insert yourself into for your uber evil culty plans, you picked the government most likely to actively hunt out down and torture you to death over it?  No other place was as good as that one?  For someone who it was assumed wanted to recreate the Age of Arcanum and eradicate the Drow, who he hates, it makes perfect sense for Ludinus to slowly try to take over the Empire over the course of multiple centuries.  For a secretive evil cult?  Remember what the Empire did to the Briarwoods?  The mere citizens of the country *BURNED THEIR HOME DOWN* and sent them fleeing for their lives when they learned that they practiced necromancy- not even that they were a cult, but that they cast the *WRONG* magic; THAT was enough to send them running off into the night.

Sure, whatever.  Everyone’s just a massively incompetent idiot in Wildemount, I guess.

#critical role #cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #ludinus da'leth #vess derogna #delilah briarwood #cerberus assembly #ruidis #cognouza #vecna #angel of iron #trent ikithon #volstrucker #it's so stupid #criticism #negative #don't like don't read

[nipsu22]

Drew a character inspired by Caleb Widogast and the Volstruckers from Critical Role's Mighty Nein campaign. Proud with the design I came up with. The Image quality here is not that good. It got blurred a bit. To those who came for the two disco elysium drawings, I hope you will like some of my other things too.

#art #digital art #painting #digital painting #digital drawing #finland #drawing #critical role #volstrucker #oc #oc art #character design #character art

[amsayshi]

Okay.

Hear me out.

I have this idea that hasn't left my head since the end of C2 and I need to let it out. I am of the mindset that the intricate web of wizard spies were kind of overlooked and underpowered towards the end of the campaign AND I can't stop thinking about them. Like they were spoken of as if they were an urban legend... So what happened to them in the aftermath? They were basically mist. How could they possibly catch all of them?

So here's some prompts that I want to write but have never gotten around to or can't write because of my disorganized head.

Prompt #1:

What happens next.

Volstruckers in the aftermath of Trent's capture. What happens to a shadow network of wizard spies when their leader is taken into custody? Do they surrender, slink back into the shadows, or reorganize into an independent spy network?

Prompt #2:

So pretty much the same as the above but cozy second chance romance for a bunch of assassins.

Haha So we follow a volstrucker who disappears into the shadows and reemerges as a tavern owner who refuses to look back on their time as an assassin spy until a familiar face pops into their tavern for a drink.

Anyway I still am fascinated by the wizard spies and wish we spent like...so much more time with them.

Give me an EXU series on former volstruckers finding their way in this worlddd. Would they all be ludinus followers!? Would the leftover volstruckers be on the moon?!

Ugh... Every few months I get wizard spy brain rot and it takes a while to push through the hyper fixation.

#critical role #caleb widogast #critical role fanfiction #critical role fanfiction prompts #the mighty nein #mighty nein #Soltryce Academy #volstrucker #Cerberus Assembly #scourger #wizard spies

[artofcarmen]

Did some background work and got the start of the flamelight on our murder son. Its been a struggle but I think the face is closer to what I wanted. ❤️‍🔥

We also determined im doing neck tattoos in the art stream today lol

#artofcarmen #wip #art process #cr2 #critical role #caleb widogast #bren ermendrud #wizard #fire #flame #volstrucker #scourger #sweet sweet murder son #my boi #he just needs a hug yall #tattoo

[whumpwizard]

Whumptober 2022 Day 3: A Hair's Breadth from Death

The Shadowhand knew what his fatal error was. He had slipped, and allowed the ginger haired Scourger into his life, despite every warning sign not to. Let himself believe that the man could be saved, could be turned away from the darkness of his past and into the light of his future. Their future, together, where they could run away and study and live a happy, quiet life.  Essek had been a fool, and now he was paying the price.

The price, it turned out, was a cold steel knife aimed at his kidney, his arm twisted painfully behind his back, and the scent of the dying fire filling the bedroom.  The bedroom that he shared with Bren.

“Well, Shadowhand, it appears your little game is over.” the deep voice behind him growled.  Wulf, if he remembered from Bren’s stories.

They had come into the room so fast, that Essek had barely noticed. He knew exactly how, of course.  Bren had disabled the arcane security system that kept Essek’s towers guarded against incursions, and let them in. It was quite literally the only possible solution. And Essek hadn’t even registered Bren leaving the bed.  Light, the man got up to pad around the room and get a drink most nights anyways, so Essek had grown used to it. 

For a brief second, he wondered if that, too, had been part of the ploy.  Get Essek used to him getting up and out of bed, so when he did that night, it seemed normal. How long had Bren been planning this? Had he always wanted this? Essek had been so sure that Bren had changed. But maybe he had just been wrong.

Across from him, his fire-haired wizard stood stock still, posture perfect and face hardened. Essek looked into his eyes, ice blue and so kind just hours before, searching for any indication of his true mind.  It was no use though. Essek found nothing but cold determination and emptiness.  He wanted to return the same distant resignation, but he couldn’t.  Essek could already feel tears streaming down his face as Wulf held him steady.  He knew that any begging would be in vain, though, and didn’t bother.

Beside Bren, stood the woman.  Astrid, looking just as he had described, her hand a steadying brace on his shoulder.

“Do you have any last words, Shadowhand? Or will you enter the Hells a silent, sobbing mess?” she asked, her voice laced with venom.

“F-fuck you.” Essek spat. Behind him, Wulf pressed the dagger in further, tearing into the skin a bit. He let out a shout, and Astrid simply smiled.

“You know, Bren told us something very interesting about you, Shadowhand.  Can you guess what it is?” she teased, stepping forwards a bit, her hand still guiding Bren. “He told us that you are not consecuted. So, when you die here, you will die for good. You will not get the chance to come back and stalk this world again. You, like all the rest of us, will rot wither and be no more. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“N-no…he…no…” Essek sobbed, looking to Bren. It couldn’t be true. It had been Essek’s closest secret, told only after many drinks and kisses had opened him up.  And now, here he was, suing that knowledge to rip him apart. To kill him in his own home, under the teasing light of a Luxon that would do nothing to protect his soul.  It was cruel. But then, cruelty was the way of the Scourgers, in the end.

“Oh yes, Shadowhand. But, truly, if. You have nothing left to tell us, I would rather have Wulf end this now.  If we have questions, a cleric can ask your corpse.”

“Say goodbye.” Wulf said from behind him, the dagger pressing deeper.  Essek shouted again, another sob ripping out of him.

“B-Bren…” The name of the man he almost loved, almost ran away with, almost lived with, was the last word on his lips. Without a moment’s hesitation, Wulf impaled him with the dagger, the blade tearing through muscle and bone. Essek’s vision flashed bright, blinding white for a second, before fading into black.

It was a shame, really, that Esseks vision faded so fast.  That he went unconscious without looking closer at Bren. If he had, he would have seen the tears, streaking silently down Bren’s face, as he tried and failed to hide them from his fellow Volstrucker. He would have seen Wulf looking right at Bren as he told Essek to say goodbye, and he would’ve seen Astrid tightening her grip on his shoulder, preventing him from running to the body.

If Essek had remained conscious for only a few more moments, he would have seen Bren break down, falling to his knees as the life faded from the elf's eyes.

#whumptober2022 #no.3 #say goodbye #impaled #critical role #fic #implied character death #character death #shadowgast #essek thelyss #bren aldric ermendrud #astrid beck #eadwulf grieve #caleb widogast #caleb x essek #stabbing #volstrucker #betrayal

[eyeofelias]

Heres the full Astrid drawing :D

#astrid beck #critical role #blumendrei #volstrucker

[exandriababes]

GUESTS OF THE CHAOS CLOVER ☘️

Yara Vonnegut!

Yara was a powerful addition to the story and important figure of the Chaos Clover. They met at Rupperdook and helped her retreive her family from a man named Adam, who had connections with the Volstrucker. She was one herself, though that is a life she wishes to put behind. Leaving a powerful message to Tonitrua Pasternikas, Yara Vonnegut set with her TEAM to run away from the prying eyes of the Volstrucker. Here's her playlist, made by our honoured guest @peixotizando 🧡 PLAYLIST

Angel - Massive Attack

For obvious reasons :P

Armed and Ready - Casey e Jeff Williams 

“Feel like I’m finally unbroken feel like i’m back from the dead my strength back and confidence growing out of my way ‘cause I'm armed and ready”

Ever since you woke up, you feel lost. You lost arm became a strenght, so, now, you're ready. It's not everyone who can make the best of a flaw.

Burn - 2WEI

You're a killer. You were made for it. Either you kill or it isn't going to be pretty. It's not like Weiss, Blake e Ruby. It's not poetic, it's not a dance, it's not silent. It's loud. You destroy. Your eyes become red and you just go. You know how far you can reach. You burn and you go through the end.

Free Fall - Ok Goodnight

Not even your wings are enought to lift the lack of their presence. But, that doesn't mean you can't survive the fall. You would to anything for them.

“Rage seems to fill her heart with fire as she sings a flame that burns her prison gates”

God’s Gonna Cut You Down - Christian Larsson (cover de Johnny Cash)

Your origin is no mystery, you know who you are and what is your potential. But you don't know what He wants. He gave you life, but what dos He want from you?

Home - Casey e Jeff Williams

For you, it was always easy to find family in other people. Family is everything to you, it always was. You're afraid of being alone, and for a period of time, you were. Nothing is more scaring than being alone. But these people are helping you find your own, and, oddly enough, you can see a bit of your own family in them.

Journey (Ready to Fly) - Natasha Blume

“But let me tell you, I’m ready to fly I survived through rainstorms, sandstorms I fought the war, now it’s time to go home”

Killer - The Hoosiers

“I hate my work but I’m in control I'm fearless now but it cost my soul”

You're tired of your job, tired of being good at what you do. Tired of listening "You fascinate me" from those above you. Tired of being an experiment. You don't wanna be a monster, nor a machine anymore. You can have your own path and doubts.

Nevermore - Casey e Jeff Williams/Adrienne Cowan

For reasons………….

Red like Roses - Casey e Jeff Williams

It's them. Your family. Your sister. Your best friend. The love of your life... You shouldn't be apart, no one should dare to tear you apart. But you'll get them back. You'll protect them.

Simmer - Hayley Williams

Wrath is welcomed. It always was. It heats your body, activates a strenght that only you can access. Your anger is to proctect. You need to proctect those who need you and anger helps you. Wrath is welcome.

Through the Valley - Ashley Johnson (cover de Shawn James)

“I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and I fear no evil because I’m blind to it all and my mind and my gun they comfort me ‘cause I know I’ll kill my enemies when they come”

Weapon - Against the Current

You're a weapon, they use you and you know that. “Machine” they call you. You listen and you know what it means. They mold you and that's what you become.

You just hope it won't leave you alone in the future.

You’ll Be In My Heart - Phil Collins 

“My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can’t be broken I will be here, don’t you cry”

She's your perfection. The love you can't describe, that no one can understand. She's your sister, she's everything for you. Your heart outside your body.

You’re No God - Laura Marling

Sometimes, you can let yourself be protected.

#yara vonnegut #wildemount campaign #chaos clover #critical role #mighty nein #tonellia #camellia thelidryv #exandria babes #finlas beltune #kairy poverst #rumblecusp island #tonitrua pasternikas #juniper chaos clover #eir chaos clover #volstrucker #caleb widogast

[demenior]

📓 but none of the sugar dragon series bcs spoilers

"Put “📓” or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I’ll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven’t written but daydream about."

The Volstrucker Legal Drama!

post-campaign 2 story but set 1-2 years max after the finale

Trent's trial has come and gone, the Volstrucker are dispersed and figuring themselves out (for better or for worse). Some left the life completely, some even left the country, etc

Some of them blame Caleb for ruining their life

A very important note is that Astrid, Caleb and Eadwulf have not reconciled their old hurts and walk on eggshells around each other, or avoid one another entirely

due to Caleb and Beau's hunting for truth and evidence to tear down the Assembly, the Assembly bites back

The Cerberus Assembly (privately) puts pressure on the government (aka King Dwendal and his courts) to deal with "pressing issues to national security"

The Empire puts out notice that the Volstrucker are to be considered "property of the Empire" and that they must all return to Rexxentrum immediately or be considered traitors and will be hunted down and executed

Further plot points under the cut

The implication will be that they come back to the Empire, and then they will do as they're told, and have their lives completely controlled and lose all the freedom they've only just gained

This is obviously Ludinus and the Assembly attempting to put Caleb in his place/make the Volstrucker turn on Caleb for having them put under even tighter control than ever before

Caleb is given a choice to renounce ever having trained as a Volstrucker-- he will be exempt from the mandate, so long as he promises to stop antagonizing the Assembly

Caleb tells the Assembly to go fuck themselves, and with Beau's encouragement and the support of the Cobalt Soul, sues the Empire for the Volstrucker's right to autonomy

From there it becomes a dramatic court battle

There was a potential for the legals to be overseen by a ruler from another nation (Xhorhas, or the Menagerie Coast), but I hadn't decided

At first the other Volstrucker would attempt to kill Caleb as revenge for putting them in this situatioin, but Astrid would pull rank on them and stop that, and by doing so would throw her lot in with Caleb and now be forced to work with him

The big stress would be about getting the Volstrucker to be willing to testify why they should be allowed to live/be "people" when most of them are so traumatized and depersonalized by their training that they don't actually see themselves as people (or deserving of second chances)

Astrid and Caleb would intiially be cold and struggle in having to work closely and deal with their very traumatic past, but through preparing and trying to win this case, they would rekindle some old sparks and find new common ground

This would also be a heavy trust between Caleb and Beau story, where Caleb has to liason with the Volstrucker to have Beau be their representative, because while the Volstrucker don't trust anyone, they surely don't trust anyone in the Cobalt Soul... but Astrid trusts Caleb, and they'll trust Astrid. And Caleb trusts Beau.

A late plot twist would be when Eadwulf turns on them, feeling cut out by Astrid and Caleb's renewed closeness, and his feeling of despair in that he doesn't think the Volstrucker have any future and they shouldn't be treated like people.

He steps up as a witness (?? I don't know how legal systems work lmao. Hence why I won't write this story), but Eadwulf steps up as a witness(?) for the oposing side to argue for why the Volstrucker should be classified as weapons and not given the status of citizens.

Essek and the Mighty Nein are around in this story, but Beau is the only side character with the biggest impact on Caleb and Astrid's side. The fic is primarily about the Blumentrio having to confront their past in the worst way possible.

Ultimately Caleb (technically: the Cobalt Soul) wins the case, but I think it has to come at a cost

The cost might be that Eadwulf has to fake his death and flee the country, as he would be at the top of every Volstrucker's hit list for trying to ruin their futures

The cost may also be Caleb having fought so hard to be part of the Volstrucker, but have to admit he isn't one/is an outsider to this "community" he has spent his life thinking he was part of

And so, therefore, the Blumentrio do not have a 'happily ever after' in the present, but, the truth is that they were never going to have that and by being forced to confront all of these old wounds, they will finally get the chance to have some kind of future

And now that the Volstrucker have fought tooth and nail to have a future, they have to figure out what that looks like for them!

#replies #asks #critical role #volstrucker #wip #(technically but not really)

[winteringart]

A monster without a name.

Let’s just say she dyed her hair at some point, idk.

Image ID: A copic marker illustration of Astrid Beck with short black hair from the chest up. She is a very buff woman wearing a black tank top and her arms that have mazelike tattoos across them are crossed and leaning on pencil railing. Beneath the tattoos, faint white scars can be seen. End ID.

#art #aesthetic #critical role #cr #fanart #volstrucker #Astrid Beck #cr2 #illustration #copic markers #scourged #grunge #artists on tumblr #described