Campaign 2 - Tumblr Posts

An unfinished Jester

I am, incredibly happy that no only is my favourite character but also a character I had headcannoned as being aro ace was confirmed to be as much. The moment Caduceus said “I’m not into anyone.” filled me with such joy I almost teared up knowing I had some representation in this wonderful show. And coincidentally revealed during ace week!

Thank you so much Taliesin Jaffe.

The two sides of Polymorph with Caleb, Apeleb and Sheepleb.

look man. look

essek saying "bren" out loud, claiming a position on caleb's side as the mouthpiece of his regards to astrid, did something to me. i can't tell if it opened a wound or punched me or gave me a hug. all i know is that i am feeling so many emotions right now

more under the cut because i'm about to get rambly:

"bren aldric ermendrud" is a separate character from caleb widogast. he's a young boy learning how to make magic. he's a deeply traumatized and indoctrinated teenager. he's the boy who curled up with astrid and eadwulf in a freezing tower for warmth all night.

essek never met bren. he met caleb and he's never known him as anyone else. if i'm remembering correctly, caleb never even said the name "bren" to him during the campaign, and neither did any of the nein.

essek knows caleb widogast. he knows the man who held up the object of his worst crime and then kissed him in the bowels of a ship and made a floor of infinite stars for them to walk through together. he knows the person who healed over bren's wounds—thinly, but enough. he knows the man that the boy has become.

astrid knows bren. she barely knows who caleb is. she still calls him bren after hearing him referred to as caleb repeatedly. she can't know him as the man he is, she only knows the boy. there's some of bren in caleb, but there is no caleb in bren.

essek saying "bren sends his regards" is him gauging astrid's reaction, on one level—if she freaks out, which she did, she's in opposition to caleb's cause and thus a threat. on another level, it's essek delivering a very different subtextual message from caleb: "the boy who loved you is giving you one final warning."

because essek is a threat to astrid. their last meaningful interaction was slinging spells at each other in the blooming grove. and that's funny in a "current boyfriend vs ex girlfriend exclusively fight each other" kind of way, but it's also deeply tied to caleb's recurring theme of transformation. "bren sends his regards" also means "i have healed enough to love enough for someone else to know this name and use it with my consent. and this someone else is your enemy. what does that make you think i've become?"

it also does a fantastic job of communicating subtle offscreen discussions that have happened over the years since the end of c2. we don't have the details of when or how caleb told essek his birth name, but we know that he did, and we know from all of c2 that the name bren occupies a place of immense emotional weight for caleb. it functions similarly to a deadname in terms of who uses it and for what purpose. trent exclusively calls caleb bren to wound him and place himself in a position of power. astrid calls him bren to remind both him and herself of who they used to be—same with eadwulf, though obviously he's not here.

the first time we hear essek say "bren" is on caleb's behalf and confronting one of the narrative representations of caleb's trauma. it's four words that manage to communicate "i, your enemy on a hundred levels, can speak for both the man i love and the boy who loved you, because i know him in his entirety."

astrid knows bren and essek knows caleb, but only essek can speak for both. because at some point, caleb gave bren to essek. and we know this from four words. four IMPROVISED words.

god. this moment is just so fucking good

The way that caduceus clay is literally my favorite Disney Princess??? Snow White could literally never like hello??

Critical Role has not only been a really enjoyable show for me, but also a big artistic inspiration. I thought I'd post some of my favourite pieces before the finale. Here's to even more art for Campaign 3!

He’s a bit (very) confused. Not to worry though, that’s just his default

Alright, who offended him with their boring (aka non illegal or otherwise trouble making) decisions this time?

Always wondered what a tiefling skull might looks like. Would it include the horns or no??? Anyways here’s my artistic rendition of said skull featuring the boi (starting to lean into that more detailed style bit by bit)

His body was a curse, he was certain of it, from the moment he first opened his eyes, he knew his body wasn’t his. And what a curse it was to be trapped in a body that wasn’t yours. Sure, he had people he could rely on from the very start. But he knew that they hadn’t wanted him, they had wanted Mollymauk. And it showed, every time they looked at him. So much so that sometimes Kingsley could have sworn, that no matter how he cut his hair, or what he wore, or how he spoke, that they still saw Molly. Because that was all they really wanted to see. Perhaps, if he looked a little different, it could have all worked out so much nicer. Perhaps, they would have loved him for the person he was. But no, instead, he was stuck in the body of a deadman he didn’t even know. A deadman who would haunt him for the rest of his days. What a kind start to a knew life.

IT’S ALMOST THURSDAY

(Start pep talk)

Time to start manifesting beauyasha! I believe in us beauyasha shippers, I really think we can do this. I’m even posting this a day earlier than planned (and it’s not even on my Instagram yet) in hopes of sending more beauyasha vibes out into the world. Remember, every minute you spend manifesting beauyasha increases the chances of them finally kissing! So find a comfy spot to sit, close your eyes, play some relaxing music if you want, and think beauyasha thoughts.

(Pep talk over)

I’ll be here all night tomorrow (well at least after my family has done Hanukkah stuff) if anyone wants to scream with me about beauyasha!

I was flipping through the “D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide” and i’m pretty sure i found Kiri on page 278.

The Mighty Nein as Jenna Marbles videos

Yasha:

Molly:

Caleb:

Nott:

Jester:

Beau:

Fjord:

Caduceus:

I’m always here for time-travel Molly/Caleb fan fiction but I just pictured the well adjusted post campaign Caleb experimenting on new time spells with Essek and accidentally traveling back in time and saving Molly and for some reason it’s hilarious to me

Like…

1) Caleb surrounded by all the disasters of early campaign Mighty Nein and their all like….Caleb are you okay? You seem okay I’m worried

2) Caleb/Molly/Essek where Caleb misses his husband, Essek, and his love, Molly, and his crush, Kingsley

3) Caleb meeting Essek again and going…Well this is awkward my traitor to the dynasty husband without all his character development

4) Just like…all of it there’s so much comedy potential. Imagine well adjusted Caleb having a conversation about mental health with any of them

5) Caleb just absolutely destroying Trent Ickithon

And like yeah there would be some angst cause he misses the future and has to do it all again but I just think it would be a Really Fun Fanfic