villains-origin-story

[villains-origin-story]

volstrucker ✖️

#critical role #caleb widogast #astrid becke #eadwulf grieve #mighty nein #art by op

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Mmmmmmm I love art that captures just how sharp-edged and deliberate Caleb’s change of presentation was when they landed in the Dynasty, in the aftermath of offering the beacon in that throne room; the way he was so very deliberate about going clean-shaven and including Kryn elements in his clothing. 

Like, how fascinating it was to see Caleb move from one survival instinct to another trained survival instinct–to go from presenting himself in a way that will be deliberately overlooked and underestimated, to presenting himself in a way that shows his power and skills and his determination to court this new alliance and strengthen their connection to the powers of the dynasty. It’s so interesting, because I think before this, the only time we see him pull out this tactic and this way presenting himself is when he was cutting their deal with Ophelia Mardun in the aftermath of episode 25. It speaks of Caleb being so desperate to keep his friends safe in these new precarious circumstances and desperate to help Veth, since they had just found out her entire situation. (I also forget that the table was convinced they had burned every bridge to the empire. I’m still thinking of Travis being like, THIS ENTIRE PART OF THE MAP?? WE CAN NEVER GO BACK HERE. Hilarious.)

And it makes the early shadowgast dynamic still absolutely fascinating to me, because all the careful charm that they aimed at each other was completely underlaid with this wary, sharp-edged maneuvering for position and favors. Especially since it later became apparent that Essek was also frantically trying to collect leverage over the M9 to be able to deal with them as necessary and cover his tracks from the beacon heist.  Even after all this time, I feel as though I’m still teasing apart what exactly Essek’s objectives were at this point in time, or at least what he thought his plan was–because it certainly wasn’t to be befriended by this bunch of chucklefucks and turn his back on everything he’s worked for up to this point. Like, why give spells, why teach these bits of highly-classified knowledge, when there were so many other things that he could offer them in terms of connections to the Kryn ruling class, which Caleb was himself trying to forge? (I mean, there’s the Doylist explanation, which is Matt giving Liam cool dunamancy spells to play with, haha. And there’s the explanation that Essek had no fucking clue what he was doing and was just frantically trying to collect favours and see it he could shape it into something to his advantage.)

Like, I love the way the 12-persuasion dunamancy lessons were underlaid with the both of them operating on crisis mode under several layers of masks to appear as impressive as possible and ingratiate themselves to each other, and all the while trying to piece together each other’s motives for doing this. And finding a connection despite and because of that. Fantastic. I love it.

#critical role #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #shadowgast #chekhov draws cr #meta

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Amazing, kinetic use of color.

Nyooms out of the sky at you like this what do you do

Obsessed…with Percy again

(i worked a while on this over several days inbetween moving stuff and work and im just take it take him i dont wanna look at his little stupid leggy anymore)

#cr fanart #vm #the legend of vox machina #vox machina #critical role #critical role fanart #percival fredrickstein von musel de rolo iii

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#fandom #selfie bee #why are we like this #this is a big thank you to all the fanfiction writers out there!! (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ♥

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Look! Look at OP’s incredible animatic! Superb character design, costume design, storytelling, visualizations… wow. Also I especially love the conceptualization of drow eyes and dress. To say nothing of the emotions captured in their faces…

#critical role #critical role fanart #shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #animatic #storyboard #the mighty nein #stunning

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Gorgeous. Op is @saturdaysky

Just some wizards drinking wine and doing magic math for fun, like absolute nerds.

And a close-up of their little faces because i was proud of them when i drew this! Essek is absolutely infodumping some dunamancy theory, and Caleb finds himself charmed at the exuberance Essek feels comfortable showing. :)

#shadowgast #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #critical role

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Thank you so much for saying that if small task is a skill then skills can be learned. I’ve been working hard on learning this past month. I’m seeing improvement in myself, and it’s amazing. I feel like my brain is two steps left from where everyone else is and I have two modes, hyperfixating or awkward, but I’m really getting better at surface conversation.

As a teenager I taught myself not to speak at all, and that was the opposite of helpful. Two days ago my boss called me “awkward,” but I’m learning. As long as I keep talking I’ll keep learning and I’ll get better.

I think one thing I really didn't get when I was like 20 is that "small talk" is often a way for people to hint at the bigger deeper things that are going on with them without overloading someone. like it can be an invitation and a chance to test the waters before launching into things that it may or may not be the appropriate time/place/person to talk about those things with.

like when someone asks "how are you," you don't have to respond with "good," but it also isn't necessarily a good context to go straight to "I keep flipping my shit at people I love because I can't regulate my emotions and I'm afraid of them dying or abandoning me," plus if someone isn't used to broaching that kind of topic at the beginning of an interaction it gives them a chance to develop the kind of comfortability to be able to talk about that stuff. some people will reach that point sooner than others, whether it's over 10 minutes or multiple years.

also, I've realized that it's a shame to dismiss talking about things besides our deepest troubles as being meaningless. human connection is meaningful even if it is just about the weather or how our family or our favorite sports team is doing, and knowing how someone feels about these supposedly surface topics tells us a lot about eachother that can be applied to topics you may consider more personal or impactful, and forming that foundation with someone is absolutely not something to be pushed aside as trivial.

#small talk #this makes sense #I need to get better at this

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And now I cry.

Beyond the veil 

I don’t know how the dnd afterlife works and I don’t care, they are going to meet again and Caleb is going to get to introduce Essek to his parents :) 

#critical role #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #mighty nein #campaign 2 #cr s2

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When people ask if I’m ok…like bro my comfort character is literally an agnostic purple war criminal (on a path to redemption) What Do You Think

#essek thelyss #critical role #the mighty nein

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Respite in the Possibility Room.

#shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #mighty nein #artists on tumblr #campaign 2 #cr s2 #critical role #caleb x essek

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Sometimes I get so emotional about how interconnected Caleb was with Veth and Essek, his best friend and his eventual lover, long before he ever met them, and how that connection never stopped

While Caleb and Nott huddled together in a prison cell, Yeza was studying a Beacon under the orders of Caleb’s former teachers, a Beacon given to the Empire by Essek

Throughout their travels, Caleb sought feverishly for every scrap of information about time magic, the field that Essek would eventually train him in, urged and aided by Nott

Nott begged the Brightr Queen for her husband’s release in vain, and Caleb held up the Beacon that Essek stole to ensure that he was released to them (from Essek’s custody)

In Essek’s laboratory, Caleb, Nott and Essek worked together on the spell that would turn Veth back into her true self

In the hold of the Balleater, Essek bared his soul to the Nein, and was met with a speech and a kiss from Caleb, and a welcome to the Mighty Nein from Veth, setting him firmly on the path to changing

At the heart of Cognouza, as Kingsley was born where Lucien fell, Caleb pulled Veth and Essek into a hug

Veth had been so desperate for Caleb to understand that he could move forward, to the extent that according to Sam, ‘all that my character cared about was saving you from fucking with your past.’ And while Veth couldn’t be there with Caleb beside the T-Dock, Essek was there, to listen, to understand, to let Caleb make the choice and walk away with him afterwads into a shared future

The ties that bind these three are so strong and so intricate. Their lives impacted each other long before they ever met. They wouldn’t be the people they are without each other. I’m just. So full of feelings about Caleb and his million points of narrative connection to his tiny chaos best friend and his fancy dunamancy boyfriend.

#critical role #campaign 2 #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #shadowgast #veth brenatto #meta

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#critical role #campaign 2 #essek thelyss #beauregard lionett #caleb widogast #shadowgast #fanart #comic

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#vox machina #vox machina show #ONE DAY MORE #Lol im a dork

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Excited about the cat, and the amazing cosplay/ set design for the cat. Oh dear.

"I mean, if knocking stuff off of tables and shredding furniture that's old isn't getting us anywhere, maybe... Maybe we could try doing some good this time?" ~Pike Trickfoot

#critical role 1 #cr s1 #Critical Role cosplay #cat cosplay

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When you get a chance to perhaps go beyond the limits of all known magic and manipulate the flow of time itself, regardless of consequence, and go back in time to change history……………….

but you know it’s a bad idea….. 

but it’s hella tempting. 

#caleb widogast #essek thelyss #critical role #critical role 2 #mighty nein #funny mighty nein

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I would die for Pretty.

it’s a date

#pretty 🥺😭 #critical role #that was so cute #cr s3

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#caleb widogast #Caleb is good at pep talks #must be that high charisma #He said this to Nott but it hit me hard #cr s2 #artists on tumblr #critical role fanart #mighty nein #critical role