#......................................................................................................(for one thing...caleb & veth rights)

[veththeebrave]

if your only response to this is "I don't like to imagine Veth cheating!" you can go ahead and scroll past this poll it's not for you. and if you think imagining fictional characters cheating on each other is evil and I'm evil you can do us both a favor and block me. peace and love on the planet earth talk to me about veth rarepairs

[c-kiddo]

before i sleep: caduceus autismposting . i think when he infodumps he just gets into his Talking Abt Interest mode and its a little intense but tmn understand and especially beau or jester can handle it. but he like makes very intense eye contact and wrings his hands the entire time with his silly smile and follows whoever around if theyre doing something and tells them, in a weird roundabout excited way, that his family have a graveyard (not a cemetery) and they make tea out of the plants that grow from the bodies and didnt you know that they all make all sorts of different kinds of plants for different teas with unique tastes its all very interesting didnt you know that? and he has told everyone about this in detail several times

[thisisnotthenerd]

finished my mighty nein speedrun. four weeks. all 141 episodes. no talks because i don't have the time to go looking for it. i feel like i've been on a bender.

but i've noted a few things about them that powered my hyperfixation:

they're so conversant with each other. every person talks to every other person either in one on one or in group conversation and they do so with regularity. for a group that was very hesitant to share their backstories at first they really read as close friends in a trusted circle.

how strategic they are. sometimes they're chucklefucks, as all adventuring parties tend to be, but they try to hit the ground running. sometimes it takes some talking through, but they make complex and unexpected decisions that change the course of encounters in seconds.

their even distribution of skills. they have good INT (caleb, beau, veth), good WIS (caduceus, jester, caleb, beau), good CHA (fjord, caduceus, caleb), good STR (yasha, jester), good DEX (beau, veth, molly), and good CON (fjord, yasha, jester, beau). they cover all of their bases and specialize where they need to in order to get the most out of their checks (caduceus with perception, caleb, beau and veth on investigation, fjord on persuasion/deception, yasha and jester for athletics, so on and so forth).

the strong motivations that drive them. each one of them has individual goals that they're pursuing that drive them both to conflict and to forward trajectory. fjord, finding out about his patron and choosing between the paths offered to him. jester, sowing chaos in the name of her god as she explores the world. caleb, fleeing from his past until he turns to seek justice in the name of his homeland. veth, seeking her family and her body back. yasha, seeking redemption and an end to the violence that defined her life. molly/kingsley, living life to the fullest and making something of the fragments he was left with. caduceus, serving his god to save his home and family. beau, finding direction in seeking the truth. even when they're pursuing a goal that only pertains to one of them particularly, they all are still present and progressing through their own goals, i.e. travelercon

there's more but i'm tired and can't process more right now.

[revvethasmythh]

it's so funny to me that caleb and veth really did just trade off the job of intensely pining for the other at like the halfway point of the campaign. like, imo, nott in the early days did not behave in any real romantic or even romance-adjacent ways toward him--I imagine it would be very hard to even think in that way when you hate what you look like so much, have such low self-esteem, and are actively lying about your entire past, including a secret husband. caleb, on the other hand, is kind of diving directly back into the sort of relationship he had with astrid and eadwulf. very close, very intimate, we-huddled-for-warmth-together-and-oops-it-led-to-something-else sort of thing. he is the one who expresses that he's fine with it if people think he and nott are romantically together when they're talking to keg. nott is the one who pushes back on that. he calls her his life partner. unknowingly, he compares his feelings for nott to nott's feelings for yeza. his behavior only really starts to change after he finds out about veth's husband because suddenly all of that other stuff is rendered inappropriate in retrospect. but even then he compliments her to yeza over dinner in the most awkward of ways, he admits to being jealous, he calls yeza "a lucky man" to have her, he stares at veth and yeza closed bedroom door for far too long, he creates an entire arcane tower with room for her family just so she'll stay with him. in general, his behavior is not, um, totally and completely platonic about it, you know?

like, veth's feelings for caleb are canonical and therefore indisputable in their existence, but caleb in the early days was not that dissimilar to how veth was acting near the end of the campaign. it really paints a picture of "right person, wrong time" in the way things just didn't line up for them. or, as veth would say: "in another world, maybe"

[burr-ell]

Sometimes Things That Shake Up the Status Quo are Worse

I keep seeing people insisting that Exandria "can't return to the status quo, which was bad", but rarely do they say anything in support of that argument beyond "the Primes pick and choose favorites!". And while I'm not confident the show itself won't try to make that claim, the reality is that it just isn't borne out mechanically or narratively. Laying aside that non-Divine Soul sorcerers exist (like, and I'm just spitballing here, Aberrant Mind Ruidusborn), the gods work primarily through the on-the-ground efforts of clerics and paladins—people who have actively and consistently put in the work to devote themselves to the divine. This is a setting where resurrection magic, which relies on divine power, has been intentionally made more difficult than it is in DnD rules-as-written. Even clerics only get access to Divine Intervention at level 10 (when they've already spent a long time devoting themselves to their deity) and up until level 20 the chances of it actually working are vanishingly small—and level 20 clerics are both hard to come by and ultimately still limited.

In the rare event that the Prime Deities choose to bless someone who isn't a cleric or paladin, it's someone who has a good reason to have gotten their attention. Vax offered his life during a divine ritual in the burial site of the Raven Queen's most devoted champion and then actively committed himself to her cause. Yasha was an aasimar being mind-controlled by a devil who wound up at a divine altar and chose to worship Kord after he freed her. Orym is the devoted widower of someone who is in Melora's realm and was present at a ritual in a temple associated with Melora, and one of his companions prayed at a shrine to Melora on his behalf. Vex was directly in front of Pelor, had taken a leadership position in one of his sacred cities, and had received a vision from him directly—and even then, she had to earn it. Scanlan also had to earn the right to Ioun's favor and complete a trial, and had previously shown qualities and values that she believed were fitting of her champion. Fjord was a companion of a devoted cleric of Melora who had sought her help in keeping Uk'otoa sealed and made requests of her on Fjord's behalf, and Fjord also chose to meditate and then became a paladin devoted to her.

And in Exandria, if you don't want to follow a god, you don't have to. Percy, Keyleth, Grog, Beau, Veth, Caleb, Essek, most of Bell's Hells, the average commoner in the various cities the parties have traveled to—whether they outright dislike the gods as a whole or just don't have an interest either way, they're all capable of thriving with or without them, and indeed their problems are almost entirely caused by mortals. It's especially egregious when you consider that cities like Avalir were around during the Age of Arcanum, when the Prime Deities physically walked Exandria, and people like Laerryn, Patia, Zerxus, and Lacrytia Hollow—openly disdainful of the gods or even trying to create feats of magic to get on their level—were continuing business as usual. The previous god of death not only willingly abdicated in favor of a mortal during this time, but outright helped her do the job!

The Prime Deities can't win. If they didn't give anyone any power at all, they'd be viewed as selfish. If they'd stayed on Exandria after the Calamity, they'd be foolish and reckless. They're simply not capable of intervening and helping everyone, so they're labeled capricious. If they leave Exandria, they're abandoning not only their refuge and home, but also the people who need and rely on them. You can argue that "no one should have that much power" all you want, but I think it's exceptionally silly to take an argument meant to criticize the wealthy and powerful of our world (whose only unique quality is ultimately that they got lucky) and apply it to fictional deities (beings who are powerful by their very nature) who, while flawed, also think they're too powerful. They tried to protect Exandria from themselves and the Betrayers while still using their power to do right by the people there, and for the most part it was working just fine.

The "status quo" from before all this was and still is the best compromise available. No one has managed to sell a better one that doesn't amount to "cater to my blorbos and my self-indulgent idea of revolutionary politics, which may or may not also ultimately circle back to my blorbos". I think that's pretty telling.

[utilitycaster]

I remember a post you made about how Sam is good at flavoring mechanics story wise, like singing his bardic inspirations, and a different post you made about how Marisha has seemed to struggle a bit with character motivations, and also how Laura was being conflict averse this campaign. What do you think each player’s biggest strengths and weaknesses are?

I think I may have answered this elsewhere but it's certainly not tagged in a useful manner and I am currently on a train meandering through the dumb state of Connecticut so:

Sam is as mentioned very good at knowing what makes a good story and specifically good entertainment. However, I think he tends to be one of the cast members who most wants very clear GM guidance; his boldest move was in fact one that required GM involvement and pre-approval. Honestly these are two sides of the same coin; caring about the audience is good, but caring too much can be an issue.

Marisha, yeah, I think tends to lean towards very loose/find it along the way character concepts and I think she actually does better when there is a stronger structure for her character. I'm going to be honest - prior to Campaign 3 I'd say her strength was interpersonal relationships, and to be fair the interpersonal aspect in C3 for everyone was kind of a mess so it's not specifically her (and if future works are good I'll write it off as just One Bad Campaign/specific to one character and return to this as her strength), but as is, not so much as a player, but I do genuinely believe she is excellent at creative direction. I think her switch to pandemic programming was one of the strongest and smoothest I saw in the actual play industry (granted, limited) and I think most shows CR has done that haven't gone over well have been issues of scheduling or uh. fandom entitlement, more than any missteps on her part.

Laura's weakness is definitely nonconfrontation/worrying that she is doing the right thing. (She and Sam are not dissimilar in that, but Sam counterbalances it by embracing failure and she also struggles with letting a character fail). Marisha benefits from structure, as with Keyleth, and Laura benefits from having a character that either lets her turn those anxieties off, like Jester, or who leans into that being the character's fear, like Vex. Her strength is that she is one of the strongest actors in the cast if not the strongest (Laura, Travis, and Ashley tend to top my personal list in terms of sheer acting chops). Even when I've found her characters frustrating I've found her acting compelling, hence what I said about soap operas that one time.

Liam's weakness is, and this is extremely a personal preference - all are, but whereas I can make a semi-objective case for many of the others this is just me, being sappy as hell. I had difficulty with Vax for this precise reason while still generally enjoying the character's motivation and arc; Liam is in my opinion at his best when he deliberately goes for more restrained or antagonistic characters. Like, there's a time to be big and cheesy (eg, the final scene switch of friends around a table in the Chicago live show) but my taste is more sparing perhaps than most (for metaphorical cheese. not for real cheese). His strength I think is also kind of the flip of this coin; he is exceptionally collaborative. I think it's no coincidence that the twins and Caleb and Veth are two of the most enduring duos of "characters who came in together" or that he's managed to do successful romances with NPCs or with a guest actor; during C1 and C2 he was really good at drawing in Ashley when she returned from extended absences.

Taliesin's strength is that he has some of the most interesting and weird character concepts that lend humanity to people who would often be denied it by a narrative - the creator of a horrible weapon; someone literally without a soul; a gutter punk - and he commits to them whole-heartedly, even the uglier parts. I think his weakness is honestly kind of similar to Matt's DM weakness, which is that he straight up has maybe a completely random chance of properly clocking someone else's character's motivations. Like, either he absolutely gets it (eg, Vex) or he says things on Talks or 4SD about other people's characters that make me go "????" and then the actor for the other character goes "????" and I'm like oh ok I'm not wrong. (This perhaps most easily demonstrated with Shardgate, which, great moment, absolutely tops, but the fact that Taliesin the Player thought Matt was doing anything BUT signaling "DON'T FUCKING DO THIS" is ????? to me and always will be; I cannot see how he could have made that more clear.)

Travis, frankly, just Gets It, like, I think the Age of Umbra session zero is demonstrative of him just being able to immediately get to the core of a work. He's strong mechanically, he's strong as an actor, he is able to generate plot hooks from pretty much anything (RIP sidequests from Novos, in a different campaign you would have been great), and he is unafraid to take big swings. He's definitely made choices I am personally less into, but honestly my only real criticism is that he sometimes plays a more jokey character in between the Fjord, Cerrit, Nathaniel types that I prefer (and even then, Grog and Chetney go at least five times harder then their concepts would imply, and it is an error to dismiss them as jokes).

Ashley is also as mentioned a very strong actor, and I also think she is unheralded as a worldbuilder for her characters; Pike, Yasha, and Fearne all have characters or locations associated with them who, even when she's had limited screentime or the story has followed other paths, feel incredibly real. I also think that she's grown a lot mechanically over the course of C3 and shows a lot of promise and I'm interested in seeing what she does with Daggerheart. I think she can be indecisive; as mentioned, I don't really blame her in C3 for a number of reasons not to mention she does a great job of integrating that as a character concept, but I really do want to see her make bolder moves.

[candelasobscura]

i decided to write out the kiss

i blacked out after the dorym kiss and spit out the kiss from dorians perspective, im gonna make it better i swear but i just sort of. word vomited

“Caleb taught me this spell!” Dorian watches as Veth grabs Ashton’s face, closes her eyes tightly, and blows into his face. “You’re protected,�� she declares and steps back, smiling wide.

“Alright,” Ashton replies. “Cool.”

As the group launches into conversation once more, Dorian feels a small hand grasp at his finger and start pulling him towards the door. He glances down in surprise to see Orym, charging through the doorway.

The two round the corner and Orym stops abruptly, looking up at Dorian. “C’mere,” he says softly. Dorian slowly goes down to a knee, meeting his eyeline.

“Yeah,” Dorian replies, as softly as Orym.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if we have 12 hours or 24 hours or no hours. I’m going to kiss you now, can I kiss you?” Orym says breathlessly, his eyes gazing up at Dorian.

Dorian manages to get out an “ohhhh shit, yes” before he’s cut off by Orym grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him into a deep kiss.

And damn, it’s a good kiss. For that ten seconds, nothing exists except for them. No Predathos, no Ruidus, no concept of time. No one is asking them to save the world, no one wants them to do anything. Right now, the only thing that matters is Orym and how good of a kisser he is.

Orym pulls back, breathless. “If we’re here tomorrow, I’d really like to figure out… this. If you want?” He says, softly.

A smile creeps onto Dorian’s face. “Oh, I want.” Dorian gently cradles Orym’s face as he pulls him into a kiss.

[thevalleyisjolly]

Critical Role PCs (main cast) ranked by whether or not Chetney could be their biological dad

Disqualified (dad known/knew their dad):

Ashton, Beau, Caduceus, Caleb, Fearne, Grog, Imogen, Jester, Keyleth, Laudna, Percy, Taryon, Vax, Veth, Vex

Disqualified 2.0 (no dad):

FCG, Kingsley,* Molly*

*Even if you count Lucien's parents as Kingsley and Molly's biological "parents," Lucien both knew them and killed them, taking them all clear out of contention.

Honourable mentions:

Orym. The one who first made us think, is Chetney _____'s dad? Alas, we know from EXU that Orym's biological dad went by the name "Tarrintel" - that is not to say that it was not, perhaps, an alias of Chetney's once upon a time, but it would hardly be consistent branding for C-Pop Industries.

Scanlan. While we know that Scanlan's father was not in his life, Scanlan did at least know enough about his father to say that his name was "Vicou." Again, it's possible that this is another Chetney alias, but be honest, can you really see Chetney ever going by the name "Vicou"? Would also be very awkward with Number 1 on this list...

And now, on to the rankings!

4. Yasha. Does not remember her biological parents, and it's not impossible that Chetney might have swung by southern Xhorhas in his travels. On the whole though, I'd give it worse odds than the other names on this list.

3. Bertrand. International man of mystery Bertrand Bell is so enigmatic that at one point, it was even speculated that he was the Lord of the Crossroads over in Vasselheim. He does appear to be fully human, but it would be mildly funny if he "exited" the story right before his father came in, which is why he's higher than Yasha.

2. Fjord. Who's to say that his other biological parent wasn't a half-orc who had a great night or two with Exandria's best woodworker?

1. Pike. We actually don't know terribly much about the Trickfoot family, or Pike's parents. What we do know is that at some point, Pike's parents left her with her cousins and went to Wynandir. Now would Chetney do a thing like that? Hard to say. There's nothing saying that Pock O'Pea is his birth name - he could mayhaps have been born a Trickfoot who, say, got in really hot water over in Tal'Dorei and had to flee to Wildemount?

In conclusion, Critical Role has spent a great deal of time pondering the all-important question, "What is that mother's name?" However, it is perhaps time that we all start asking, "What is that father's name?" and maybe even, "Are you my freaking dad?"

[bravenot]

Veth and Caleb talk about relationships. (sorry for putting Sam’s horrid halloween mask on your dash lol. Transcribed below)

Veth: Caleb.

Caleb: Yeah?

Veth: I had the chance to make it with a minotaur and I didn’t.

Caleb: Well, I am sorry for you but glad that you, uh-

Veth: This could be my only chance! And I blew it. Because of “love”

Caleb: Things at home ok?

Veth: Things at home are great! It’s fine. Sex has never been better. But you know, that’s the brass ring.

Caleb: I’m sure there’s a brass ring in there somewhere, ja.

Veth: Did I make the right choice?

Caleb: Of course you made the right choice. Yeza-

Veth: You had to make a difficult choice once. To go back and do it all again, or not. You don’t regret it, do you?

Caleb: Well if you’re talking strictly romance, my relationship is a little bit different than yours. Things are slightly more fluid but, you know, every persons deal is a little bit different and you’ve seemed very happy for a long time.

Veth: I am very happy. But this one regret will haunt me forever. You don’t know that that’s like!

*laughter*

Liam: (out of character) you are terrifying, you know that?

[dirtyassvoiceactors]

Random things i love established at e1 from c2

- Travis within minutes of Sam playing Nott already says he loves her (which is why i love Fjord x Veth as a duo not necessarily romantic but any interaction from them is complete gold)

- B: “Yasha Yasha” thus Beauyasha is born (bonus Yasha being the worst hypeman ever)

- Y: “Do you want to stare at me all day, or do you want to give me the weapon so you can go watch the show?” Fj: “That’s an interesting choice.” Y: “It’s not really a choice.” Fj: “sure”*pulls out his falchion* Y:*swings falchion around* Fj: ”Don’t hurt yourself”/ one: fjord trying to vandran charm his way out by barking out the wrong tree kk two: everyone repeating the word falchion with fjords accent kkk

- Y: “Mollymauk. That Jester’s adorable” M: “I know. Highly entertained” Y: “i like her”/ pretty much everyone in the nein(or that has met jester) has a little crush on her (also polynein is the most possible party polycule, everyone has had a crush on everyone pretty much and is canonically polyamorous)

- Beau calling Jester superstitious for having her cards read by Molly (boy those lore drops sure add up since day 1 one huh) Also Beau saying she doesn’t like the jail

-Yasha literally going away for the first time right after the first battle

- C: *laughs awkwardly*”good luck at the academy, that’s rough i hear” Understatement of the century, also Fjord being all excited Caleb knew about it and had magic *vibrates in widofjord excitement*

- M: “… i can read fortunes-“ J: “I was gonna ask if you can read fortunes! Can you do one now?” M: “I knew you were going to ask that.” J: “oh my gosh, You’re So Smart. Look at this guy, He Knows Everything!” / (J: “Think of Molly, He was So Smart!” “MOLLY KNEW THINGS! MOLLY KNEW THINGS!”) / J: “Do you know my name?” M: “What is your name?” J: “Jester.” M: “I know your name now!” / Truly one of the best character intros of all time, his and Jester intros, tbh why I’ve rewatched the first episode so many times even without rewatching the whole thing, all of the nein have perfect intros, it’s just a banger from the start

- B: “Oh yeah. Sorry for being a pessimistic asshole, by the way, when we first came into town.- I’m not used to things turning out good” / B: *to Fjord* “We’re supposed to at least say that, right? And then still accept it, right?” B: *still to Fjord* “… It’s rude not to accept a gift, right?”*to the man giving them the money*”It’s rude not to accept a gift, right?” / AKA Beau is autistic y’all are sleeping on it, she’s also just an asshole, most of her and Fjord’s relationship is him teaching her social cues, please y’all im begging with nein again going on, listen to my informed opinion as an autistic “asshole” lesbian, the amount of unintentional times I’ve been “rude” or “an asshole” to then lead me to intentionally be “rude” or “brash” cause at least it’s “not a surprise” is insane

[dent-de-leon]

can you imagine being Essek and watching this tiefling on a total power trip turn into a 10 feet tall--incredibly ripped??--god and kill the boy you're catching feelings for?? And brand you with some kind of evil cursed hivemind magic you're worried might corrupt you forever?? This thing that your friends swear was once family, but all you see is something monstrous and otherworldly and tearing himself apart at the seams, screaming when all their loved ones call out to him??

Just. the way it must have felt to see Lucien go from that to. Just the most sweet and affectionate little tiefling. Gentle and curious and so full of joy and wonder. He's got the brightest smile and warm eyes and this mischievous playfulness. He runs off at first--startled, scared. But then once he's calmed, the first real word he says other than Empty is Love. And right after that he calls out for his Magician, for this man who did everything he could to save him, held him close and kissed him so tenderly on the forehead--

And Caleb throws his arms around Essek and Veth and just watches the Nein all descend on Tealeaf and embrace him amidst laughter and tears and Molly's starting to smile again and Caleb's so so happy just to see him finally alive and.

In that moment, Essek understands why they came all this way--

[mooshlovely]

Nein Again Episode 6

(oops I was traveling and got behind)

"Oh my god you killed your whole family" tbh I kind of expected a flinch from Caleb at this. But I guess Liam was distracted (12 min)

The Molly interrogation is interesting cause its such a huge percent lies lol (13)

"We agreed not to put anyone in harms way in an excessive manner" "When did we agree to that?" This is probably why people think Fjord is the moral backbone lol. Also just such a hilarious interaction (17)

Switching the salt and sugar is an underrated prank. I appreciate Jester's tiny bits of chaos so much. It's the sort of thing that I would love to do as a harmless prank, but can't cause once you get older it no longer really seems harmless anymore. (how much food will this person make before realizing? How much food is going to get wasted right after such a devastating battle?) (21)

"I've also been the victim of a horrible attack" well it's not a lie (28)

"I recommend you take it slow" Caleb speaking from experience here, I'm surprised no one asked when he felt like that before. I bet he wished he had friends he could have stayed with after it all went bad (33)

Matt really did an excellent job setting up the conflict between the Empire and the dynasty. He just keeps sprinkling bread crumbs (42)

"Famine, syphilis" ah so this is where it started (43)

"We are very experienced" Caleb stretching the truth a bit lol. Is this him overestimating their capabilities or manipulating Bryce to have more faith in them? (45)

I love finally understanding all the secrets. Jester clocking that the Starosta had been to the Chateaux is such a good detail. And it's even better because no one else knows what she's talking about (55)

Wow Liam's commitment to counting (1:02) Also stealthily under paying

And Nott's alchemy skills coming up :) (1:05)

"..I run and you kill them" (1:08)

"no social graces" is such an interesting comment from Caleb cause it so patently untrue. Is it reflecting his current uncertainty being around people cause he's out of practice? Or is it also manipulation to make people underestimate him? Cause it definitely doesn't reflect his actual skills. It could be the difference between interacting with strangers versus friends, he knows how to charm but not how to be himself (1:12)

Ooo the Fjord charisma coming out to play, got to love it (1:14) Not that it worked lol

And Caleb coming in to back him up (1:16) and also under paying again lol

"Bad news, oh shit, there's a fuckton of them" Amazing line from Beau, also exciting to see Beau investigating stuff (1:21)

"I don't want to, like, make y'all alarmed or anything, but that was kind of fucking efficient" You said it Fjord. I cannot help but like a party that is really fucking good at what they do and the Mighty Nein were scary efficient from the very start (1:42)

I also love the scavenger levels Taliesin (1:47)

I still can't believe Sam made a rogue thats literally scared of everything. And the intentional intoxication right before a combat encounter. I love Nott so much (and obviously Veth is great too, but this is the energy I miss in later episodes) (1:50)

"I think maybe …none.. of us should hold it" Wow Nott really has no faith in anybody. Which is totally justified lol. Fjord once again being singled out as the responsible one (2:10)

I love how this party plays with stereotypical party roles. What does it mean to be 'the cleric' or 'the rogue'. Like of course Nott has no idea how to check for traps, why would she? This whole scene in general is also just so good (2:12)

There's Caleb's weak stomach again (2:38)

Once again singling out Fjord and Caleb as the strategy ones. (2:43)

Love the top table dynamics, literally the whole brains of the operation (2:45)

The ball bearings! Did they ever actually help a situation? I swear every time Beau used them they did nothing or actively made things worse (2:58) and yup this time is no different

Oh yeah a baby in danger would fuck up Nott (3:52) Matt is not pulling his punches

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

This week, we have eleven fics that feature Caleb, Essek, and at least one other person involved! Look behind the cut for some Shadowidomauk, some Blumenshadow, some Fjord/Essek/Caleb and more!

amongst the things left unforgiven by nonwal (63958, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

“In which a pair of scourgers shows up at Essek’s doorstep and saves him from himself.“ Slow-burn blumenshadow featuring heavy mistrust, mind games that aren’t mind games, and Caleb mostly in the background thinking he doesn’t deserve to be loved.

Reccer says: One of my all time faves. Nonwal’s gorgeous prose and characterization of these 4 is always top notch, but the dialogue?! The spy vs. spy mind games? The poetic descriptions of longing and grief? The visceral feeling of constant low-level panic punctuated by a full panic attack and maybe developing a crush on your current crush’s evil exes? The DIALOGUE (again)?!?! Absolutely stunning. Side note: chapter 4 features the best Jester dialogue I have ever read. The tag “openly declaring your mutual distrust can be a love language if you do it right” says so much and I love it.

Happily Ever Laughter by Settiai (1288, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: Veth’s alcoholism is brought up a few times but isn’t the focus.

Adorable Essek/Caleb/Veth/Yeza slice of life fic. Polyamory is not nearly as difficult as trying to teach a hyperactive 6 year old magic can be.

Reccer says: Incredibly sweet little domestic fic. The rapport between them is so soft and gentle and well-worn like the most comfortable pair of old house slippers. The moments where Yeza and Caleb glance at each other and manage to communicate in absolute silence (in that pseudo-telepathic way that some real parenting couples often do) are just so perfect, and Veth still finding Essek somewhat aggravating even while she loves him is :chefskiss: delightful.

Three’s Company by flammablehat (2074, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Caleb, Essek, and Fjord have a threesome, and Essek is maybe more than a little jealous about it.

Reccer says: Possessek is always a favorite! Fjord is fjeisty, and Caleb is having the time of his life. It’s both hot and tense.

altogether, infinite possibilities by ivelostmyspectacles (199305, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek has barely begun to cement his place in Caleb’s life when they bring Mollymauk Tealeaf back from the dead. Slowly, the three of them adapt together.

Reccer says: First part of a series! This was my entry point into Shadowgast!

in the pieces of what's left or what we've found by SeaWitchDreams (14620, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Astrid takes some time to figure out how she wants to rebuild her life (and who she wants to rebuild it with.)

Reccer says: a wonderfully subtle and contemplative character study, featuring four wizards carefully dancing around each other

the sea, the stars, the dreamers by nonwal (111996, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: suicidal ideation

Essek sacrifices his budding relationship with Caleb to marry Archmage Astrid Beck - for the good of the entire galaxy. But whatever Astrid's reason for marrying him is, is not nearly as noble.

Reccer says: This fic takes an unusual premise (Blumenshadow arranged marriage spaceship murder mystery with sea shanties?) and *commits* to it. Still incomplete, but if you've liked this author's other works, you won't regret taking a chance on this one.

(Oh,) How a Human Burns by witches_chant (18318, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

This is a story about Essek trying to prepare for eventual loss, depending on if Caleb wants to use the Clone spell or not. But it’s also a story about a lazy, sexy vacation on Rumblecusp where the couple stumble upon a service top and learn things about their relationship (with a happy ending!).

Reccer says: It’s both hot as hell AND feelsy! It’s a really interesting take on Caleb & Essek’s relationship. Honestly I recommend the entire series.

Victim of Convenience by se1ze (54243, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek and Caleb are together, Essek and Kingsley get together, and Kingsley is losing his mind because Caleb can’t get his shit together. An exploration of the very complicated feelings that crop up when a) no one seems to understand who you are, and b) someone you love thinks they need to stay gone for your own good.

Reccer says: The dialogue is fantastic, the sex is wonderful, and the hurt/comfort is amazing. It establishes the foundation upon which Essek/Kingsley can be a thing in a way that is both endearing and completely believable. Caleb is oblivious to how much Kingsley loves him, and once again hurts those around him by throwing himself on his sword.

(nothing in my bones can say) just where you’ve been by SaltCore (8216, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

It takes more time than Caleb realized to get home from the Hellcatch Valley, and in his absence, Essek’s tentative alliance with Astrid and Eadwulf has grown to something more.

Reccer says: Soft and complicated and briefly heartbreaking. The way it manages to feel like an outsider POV reinforces the sense of missing time, of having missed a massive change, and the softness and warmth of everyone’s love for each other is palpable throughout even in the most tense and anxious of moments.

i'll meet judgement by the hounds by necromanticomedy (yelenavasilyevna) (6553, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Dubcon/Consensual Non Consent, knifeplay

Astrid and Eadwulf come to a dinner party to meet Essek Thelyss. Things either go very poorly or very well, depending on your definitions.

Reccer says: the author called it a "insane psychosexual foursome" but neglected to mention that it's the best insane psychosexual foursome you'll ever read

To The Bone by thetickingclock (2919, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Snapshots of Astrid and Eadwulf's opinion of Essek changing over time (and proximity to Caleb Widogast.)

Reccer says: Hits all my favorite notes when it comes to Blumenshadow, and there's an astounding amount of characterization and relationship development packed into less than 3k words.

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week, we’ll be back with Lifespan Angst!

[revvethasmythh]

So there is no way that Caleb teleports to Nicodranes, makes the tower for Veth to have sex and isn't invited, right? Right???

i like to imagine that, seven years since the conclusion of the mighty nein campaign, veth and caleb and yeza are STILL locked in the weirdest, occasionally deeply awkward, absurdly intimate threeway dynamic in which exactly none of them have willingly made the leap from being So So Weird about each other to actually like. doing anything about it. which is to say, i think it's very possible that caleb DOES just teleport to nicodranas so veth can have sex in his tower with her favorite sex swing that he creates for her and yeza specifically and not a single one of them has taken the time to assess that behavior in any meaningful way. but also god i hope one day soon, either veth or yeza just throw an invitation out there and frankly it feels like a thing that could just straight up happen in canon at this point

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 115

Sing? Really? Oh gods ... wait ... oh no ... really, he is THE LAST PERSON who should have one of these things ... oh yeah, give it to Robbie ... YEAH, that's moe like it ... no, give it back, Samuel! Yes. That's better ... by the gods this is a mad skit and I'm not surprised Marisha's got gigantic giggles ... XD ... oh my ... SHE'S gettign a go? The one cast member who CAN'T sing? Interesting ... LOL

MattL "We're professionals!" Yes .. you are ...

Wait ... what's going on with Ashley and Marisha? Is that a bit for Matt's plug? It's a bit random since they're both OFFSCREEN for it ...

Der Katzenprinz? Awwwwwwwwww ... it's real! :3

Back with Bells Hell and the Mighty Nein, then ... so we're reeling things back an hour or two ... which is about right ... "dicks out?" Really?

Fjord's sensitive nipples ... that's adorable. He's the most feared pirate in allf Exandria, folks! XD

Less illusions, more projections ... yeah, exactly, Imogen. Oh yeah ... Snowcone Ludinus, yeah ...

The confusion begins ... oh yeah, I've been looking forward to more of this ... LOL ... meanwhile Matt's just enjoying sitting back and WATCHING ...

Ah yes, where DO the Nein stand on the subject of the gods?

"Trent Ikithon"? Don't invoke that name, Fjord! Don't trigger the Dirt Wizard!

Caduceus: "So you're feeling confident because you've fought two snowmen?"

Just make Fearne an egg already, Chet!

A Message to Ludinus? I mean honestly, one of Jester's Messages would probably be a major headache for him, so I could actually get behind that idea ... XD

Rashinna! Hi! She's here, it's time, then ...

Ooooh, bombs ... yay! That should be fun. Explosives are always fun.

So ... is that like some funky cool grapple gun? That's pretty sweet ...

Wow ... Gaz really is like the Johnny Bravo of Ruidus, isn't he?

Nott wants to be close to "the big boom" ... well yes, she would ... I love this little pyromaniac ... if she shouts "Fluffernutter!" just before she blows it up that'll just be the icing on the cake ... XD

Don't eat the slime, Beau! It's not for eating ...

Trying to decide who can just fly up and who needs a little help ...

Fjord: "You hear that, Nott? Braius is going down." Veth: "Don't even tempt me! Big strong man ..."

"Lunchies"? Wow ... Gaz, man ...

Ah, so tea and ... something more? Hmmmmmm ...

A toast? Go for it, Dorian. "Please don't die, and down the hatch." Attaboy ...

Ruidian cheese dreams ... I love that so much ... XD ... yeah, please let Gaz survive this so someday he can have some cheese ...

Braius wanting Chetney to CHISEL R.T.A. on him when Jester has actual TATTOO EQUIPMENT ... LOL

Caleb thinks the Hells are even more insane than the Nein... that is a crazy compliment, definitely ...

:3 ... awwwwwwww ... Imogen and Laudna are as cute as ever ... I really am hoping they're gonna make it through this shit ... yeah, please let them get that little cottage they dream of ...

Yasha ... silently judging Veth for mooning over Braius ... I love it ... the question about Yahsa and Beau's marrital status ... so ... they're still not sure what it is? Hmmmm ... Marish: "Wait! Dani says we're married!" Oh boy ... LOL

Lots and lots of sex. This is apparently Yasha's secret to their longevity ... of course it is ...

Did Veth just ask Yasha if she was up for a foursome? O.O

Yes. Beau WOULD be a great mother. It's bizarre, but very true ...

Marriage at TravelerCon? Oh yeah, that sounds PERFECT ... yeah, all the wedding planning is just THE BEST PART of this episode so far ... which after all the Yasha/Veth sex-talk is definitely saying something ... XD

Gaz tries honey for the first time ... O.O ... wow ...

Oh ... so that's it, then? Time to start ... hmmmm ... and potentially a big goodbye for both parties ...

Caduceus: "When the time comes ... go with what feels kind." Oh ... yes. Definitely ...

Let Laudna have the Raven Mask. PLease. As much to stop the squeekiness, really ...

Yes. Give Ashton an hour of Psychic protection. That would be really helpful ... wait ... Chetney has NEGATIVE ONE for Wisdom? Fucking hell ...

Oh, so she just FAKES IT? That's hilarous ...

A last quick moment with Dorian and Orym? Oh ... THEY'RE KISSING?!!! THEY'RE KISSING!!! THEY'RE FUCKING KISSING!!! TEN SECONDS OF KISSING!!! IT'S HAPPENING!!! Oh dear ... sorry Braius ... oops ...

Fucking hell ... are Ashton and Fearne REALLY about to take a massive amount of mushrooms right before they go into the most desperate fight ot their life? O.O

Fucking hell, Sam! How many of those do you even HAVE?!!!

Caleb and Imogen bonding ... yeah, they really do seem like such a good friendship fit ... :3

It's going all red ... and a screech? A strange screech? Is Imogen getting trapped in a dream? Oh fuck, that's exactly what it is ... Liliana! Oh fuck, is it all going off already? Not good ... he knows? Oh fuck ... that's so bad ... wait ... WHAT?!!! What's happening to her? Matt Mercer don't you fucking DARE!!! Oh fuck ... is she gonna be with her for as long as she can in what's clearly her final moments? Fuck ...

A HARNESS?!!! He's funnelling her? NO!!! NOOOOOO!!!

And NOW he calls a break? Matt Mercer you EVIL BASTARD!!!

While all that's happening we're off with the Nein instead ... damn it! And back with the old seating arrangement! Cool! But no Robbie? Not quite so cool ...

Seeming is still up? Okay, then ... smart ...

Group deception check? First fresh roll as the Nein ... okay, it's been a little while ... looks like we all have to get back to remembering the old stats ... and Ashley's RIGHT back on the classic dice behavour already ...

Crap ... are they running into difficulty ALREADY?

Bluffing time ... Deception check! Oof ... here we go, then ... so ... that worked, then? Phew ...

And now they're being followed ... bollocks ... so then that DIDN'T work, then ... hmmmmmm ...

Invoke Duplicity! Oh nice ... yeah, it's been a while ... :3

Nice ... so THAT distraction worked. Great work, Jester.

Sneaky sneaky ...

Aha ... so this place seems like what we're headed for ... yup. we're here. The Arx Creonum ...

So they're going IN then ... oh, a friend? Somebody on the inside, then ... yeah, looks like they're pulling it off, then ...

Wow ... gods, she was so young then ... :3

Okay, so now it's time to finally work out what they're gonna do with the climb ... is Beau gonna go so some more Cool Monk Shit? Let her Naruto Run along the cable ...

Veth casts Spiderclimb ... cool ...

Beau's still spicy about Veth shooting her in the arse after seven years ... XD

THat's a lott of BOOM, Gaz ... and now he's sort of quoting The Goonies ...

Meanwhile Fjord and Jester are doing the whole Superman and Lois thing ... LOL

Think light thoughts, guys ... and yeah, a little Guidance would be helpful too. Thanks, Jester ...

Veth gets a MATCHING OUTFIT for the infiltration? Cool ... yeah, she's on the DEMO TEAM ... O.O ... extra cool ...

The bird flips the bird ...

The assault has begun! Laura: "It has begin!"

Climbing time for the demo team, then ... okay, well that went surprisingly well ... the lines are now secure. Step one is a success ... Spiderclimb!

Ring of Spell Splitting, plus Death Ward? Nice ...

Veth totally showing up everybody else as they go up ... XD

STEALTH CHECK!!!

Safe arrival, then ... all going well so far ... what's next, then?

Finding a prime spot for the bombs, then ... Investigation check! Okay ... planting the bombs ... c'mon Veth, this is what you're really good at ... no Spiderclimb lasts an HOUR, you're fine ...

Lighting the fuse ... here we go ... HIDE!!! TAKE COVER!!!

They've been spotted? Crap ... IS THAT a problem right now? Oh, guess not ... BOOM!!!

A THIRD OF THE BUILDING starts to fall away? Holy fuck ... O.O

Time for the rest of them to make the cli8mb too, then ... all at once! Get to it, guys!

Evasion for ZERO DAMAGE? Sweet. "Rogues are back in style!" XD

Seven rounds to ascend? Crap ... what's gonna happen in the interrim?

Beau is DASHING it ... this is gonna be SPECTACULAR ... so she can clear it in FOUR rounds ... which means 4 Acrobatics checks ... roll well, Marisha! 17 for the third one? Oh fuck ... that's BARELY enough ... wait ... is Veth SERIOUSLY gonna electroshock Beau right now? O.O Caleb Bird sighs SO HEAVILY ... so the DC is now TWENTY ... oh fuck ... Sam fucking Riegel, the classic chaos gremlin ... oh wow ... yeah, she just GRINDS THAT FUCKER with her staff ... that is just AWESOME ...

Gods I love these two so much, they're both so petty ... XD

Meanwhile how do everybody else get on? Starts smooth ... but now they've been spotted ... crap ... this complicates things ... and now they're being pelted with stuff ... SPEARS?!!! Seriously? Crap ... O.O ... shit ... did Laura really rol a THREE?!!! Crap ... and now she's just had her harness cut away ... FUCK!!! And now Jester is FALLING ...

Ashley rolls a ONE when Yasha tries to grab her ... so Fjord just goes after her instead! Of course he does ... so romantic ... but that adds an EXTRA ROUND to the whole mess ... crap!

Oh for fuck's ... ANOTHER shit roll? So bad ... Ashley strikes again ... and now YASHA'S harness is starting to go too ... shit! Grab that hook, girl! Nope, she's falling too ... yeah, Caleb just swoops for her ... and NOW she's starting to Rage ...

Fuck ... yeah, he JUST catches her in time ... and now they're under fire ... a giant eagle has 26 hit points? Bloody hell ... O.O ... that was almost SO BAD ...

Taliesin rolls a ONE ... oh sweet fuck ... and now CADUCEUS is plummetting too ... crap ... so Jester casts Polymorph on him ... she turns him into a giant dire-beetle ... with a Dacuceus face? Wow ... that's just PURE nightmate fuel ... but he is now flying again ...

Okay, so ... they made it, then? Finally ... and it was a TOTAL MESS the whole way ...

Great ... so now they have to make MORE checks to climb up the side of the structure ...

Oh okay ... Battlemap time? Here we go, then ... fuck, this shit looks REALLY HAIRY ...

"HELLO BEEEEEEES!!!"

ROLL INITIATIVE!!!

Beau clambers up onto the wall and runs along the top to try and get past them, while being as tauntingly annoying as possible ... hmmm ... then she goes on the ATTACK!!! POP POP!!! Oh, I have missed this ... Stunning Strike! Yay! But they resist ... crap ... Patience Defence!

Caleb tries to swoop as close as he can to the big blasted opening in the hope to just TOSS Yasha into it ... nice ...

Caduceus buzzes to the nearest platform and hides, ready for the next move ...

Yasha picks herself up and starts climbing the wall ... then she throws her recently acquired spear at one of Beau's foes ... oh yeah, 29 DEFINITELY hits ...

One of the Shrikes shoots his glass cannon at her ... yeah, that's a miss. Phew ... quite a wake-up call, though ... another one takes a shot ... ALSO misses ... thirs one HITS though ... oof ... it definitely hurts, but she's able to shrug it off ... then the closest to Beau takes a shot, that misses ... but the next hits her! Crap! She burns a Ki point and just manages to grab the shot and throw it back! Nice ... CRACK!!! And he fails his save ... 2 D8 Psychic damage? Nice ...

Jest holds her action while waiting to get closer ... holding Darkness? Okay ...

Crap ... Yasha's taking hits ... but she's a Barbarian so she just BOSSES her way through it ... nice ... Telekinetic Combo? Boooo! Thankfully she's able to shrug THAT off too ... meanwhile Beau's taking some pretty nasty hits too ... oof ... crap, it knocks her RIGHT BACK to the wall ...

Armoured feskuls? Crap! Sam: "Can't this game just be roleplay and no combat?"

Fjord touches down with Jester on the nearest ledge, and she casts Darkness to give Yasha and Beau some cover ... nice! Meanwhile he casts Hex on the juggernaut fighting Beau. Then he throws some Eldritch Blasts at him! Ballsy ... Even with the Darkness he manages to hit with ALL THREE!!! Also nice ... oh yeah, that's A WHOLE FUCKLOAD of damage in one round there ...

The Blade Baron uses his Blade Storm to start swiping at Yasha ... crap! EIGHT D10 Slashing damage? Fuck ... that's nasty ... thank fuck she's Raging ...

Gaz arrives! Phew ... he flubs his entrance, but he's there now, at least ...

Veth rushes to join her friends ... and fires her Aeorean Security Cannon into the Darkness, hoping she doesn't hit Beau (or at least that's what she SAYS) ... 39 points of damage? Wow ...

Beau bolts out of the Darkness and makes for the gap ... oh, that is pretty sweet! Yeah, do that ... if you can take this Hulk out in one deft move ... OH SHIT she actually PULL IT OFF!!! That's so beautiful ... yeah, he's just PLUMMETTING to his death now ... that's a proper sweet fucking move, Beau!

Caleb curves around the edge and swoops down to Caduceus, and that's about it ... hmmmm ...

Caduceus casts Guidance on him, and also that's about it ...

Flashbacks of Aeor? Yeesh ...

Yasha has to try and slip past to make it to the edge ... so she just decides to take a swing at him instead. Reckless Rage! Yes ... that's a hit! Yeah! And another! Ooooh, Dvine Fury? Nice ... that.s 43 on one hit ... second's another 19 ... now she tries to shimmy by ... and she MANAGE IT!!! Yes ... she's free to fully disengage so she jumps down and makes her way down towards Caleb and Caduceus ...

The Shrike tries to shoot at Veth ... second shot hits the mark ... ouch ... thanks to Uncanny Dodge she shrugs off the worst ot it ... and she doesn't suffer any ll effects either ... phew ...

The two Polymorphed folk are now taking fire ... POP!!! Yup, now Caleb has been BATTERED back to human form ... and the rest of the damage hurts too ... but both shots as Ceduceus just miss him entirely ...

Jester casts a Guiding Bolt at 2nd Level and chucks it at the feskul ... and MISSES!!! Shit ... that's so frustrating ...

Juggernaut faceplant! Nice ...

Shit! Spotted! Now they're under fire again ... Caleb and Yasha takes some more hits ... and here come the feskuls! Aaaaaaaaahh! Oh, that is NASTY!!! Fjord and Jester take some hits too ... the other goes for Veth ... and she gets BIT!!! Nasty ... 32 points of Piercing damage? FUCK!!!

Hexblade's Curse! Fjord hurls them at the juggernaut ... pow! And it just FALL OFF THE EDGE!!! Nice ... he shifts the Hex to the feskul, then fires some Eldritch Blasts at it ... second hits! BOOM!!! Prmanently reduced AC? That's pretty sweet. Finally they land on the ledge next to Beau.

The Blade Baron sets in on Gaz ... oh man ... PLEASE make it through, big guy! Thankfully Matt rolls absolute BALLS so he gets through JUST FINE ... so the Baron just FLEES?!!! XD Oh my gods ...

Gaz goes right after him and just starts POUNDING on him ... oh yeah, he just KEEPS ON HITTING HIM!!! Nice ... That's 66 points of damage he unloads on him ... and that's IT for the Baron! Beautiful ...

Veth just BOOKS IT and makes a flat out DASH right past the remaining foes ... who manage to MISS her ... phew ... then she jumps down and makes a PERFECT landing right onto the juggernaut ... instantly blinding him ... very nice ...

Beau attacks while he's blinded ... POP POP!!! Juggernaut's hurt, but still in it ...

Caleb chucks a Fireball into his nuts ... and ENGULFS HIM!!! Nice ... Claeb grabs hold of Veth and pulls her away as the burning enemy plunges over the edge ... nice ...

Okay, time to head into the tunnels, then ... Beau dumps a bunch of ball-bearings behind them as they go.

Fjord and Jester are the only 0ones left out there, along with Gaz ... hmmm ... meanwhile they're still taking fire ... oof ... yeah, they're getting hurt, but hanging in there ...

Jester jumps down and SLIPS ON THE BEARINGS!!! Fuck ... yeah, she bruises her butt when she goes down ... oof ...

The feskul tries to attack Gaz ... it starts snapping at him, but doesn't influct much damage on him in the end. The other swoops on Fjord, but he's able to fend it off ...

Fjord throws some Eldritch Blasts at it, and two hit ... yeah, one's a CRIT!!! Nice ... yeah, that's some serious damage, and he blasts it right out of the sky. He follows the others and now they're all together ...

Just Gaz left, then ... he manages to disengage and jumps across too, JUST manages to avoid the bearings and now he's with the rest of them. He turns to cover their entry, leaving them to head on inside.

Jester gives him the rest of her honey before she goes. Snd he calls her "Honey Miss!" Awwwwwwwwww ... :3

Yeah, that's a good place to call it a night. Is it Thursday yet?

[utilitycaster]

1. My biggest isssue (as a POC) is when is a character POC or otherized? Do we use IRL or in world? Beau is Human, brown woman. At no point in C2 is the fact that she is brown comes up other than discriptions. Her humaness is what matters especially in the COB. She is treated the same aa Caleb. Fjord, Nott and Molly havs far more in text displays of racism towards them. Ppl dismiss jester as being "white" but insist dorian is poc. When in world they are the same colour.

2. And teiflings would be more discriminated against. I know robbie is poc and dorian is blue but hes a genasi. In the world of exandria i view him and ashton as the same race. So i see these weird arguments online and its always a cross steam trying to use both in world races and irl to prove a point. Since i am examining the world of exandria i use the races displayed there and no attention to what the people look like irl. Also it avoids unintentional sterotyping down the road

3. An example ppl drawing drow and ashton with black racial features (my own) and then someone else complaing that the fandom made the asshole and the would be villian into black men. This fanon has unintended consequences once the story is fully fleshed out. Saying Orym is non white (despite Liams art direction) is bad because people to this day are mad Marisha made beau dark. It cant be both way. This way ppl can headcanon stuff so they dont have 2 go looking for other ips for representation.

----

So this is a really good point and I am, as said, an ethnic/religious minority but not a racial one and so this is how I tend to interpret this stuff in fantasy works, especially ones that have multiple species (humans, elves, etc) as it's not limited to Critical Role (ie, happens in Dragon Age too), which I think is what you're saying here but feel free to let me know if I'm wrong:

There's "is this character treated, in-world, as racialized" (which is often more contextual in a lot of fictional works in a way it is not IRL due to patterns of colonialism in our world, which is a long conversation I'm probably not equipped to articulate well, but just as an example, Fjord is racialized as a half-orc on the Menagerie Coast, but half-orcs in Yios, for example would have a very different experience). In other words, do people within the work of fiction discriminate against them on the basis of race? Anyway, as you said, Fjord, Molly, Jester, and Veth in her goblin form are treated as The Other; Fjord (and Molly, though his memory is only a few years long) grew up with this experience whereas Jester and Veth grew up, for different reasons, sheltered from or unaffected by that discrimination. Beau didn't experience racism in-world, nor did Veth in her halfling form, despite both of them being visibly nonwhite. For a Dragon Age example, Bellara, Davrin, and Antoine grew up with racism as elves, but Neve did not (and indeed comments on using her privilege as a human mage among human mages) despite being visibly nonwhite (and despite Antoine being white).

There's then "is this character treated out of world as racialized", or in other words, do fans treat them as nonwhite. This is also complicated, and this is something I can speak to as Jewish people who are not also POC experience 'conditional whiteness', ie, when right-wing people want to hate Jews we are the nonwhite infiltrator and when left-wing (and often themselves white) people want to hate them they are the white oppressor. So racist fans will hate characters who are nonwhite (like Beau) and fans trying to prove their blorbo cannot be criticized on the basis of oppression. In this case, Beau and Veth are nonwhite; Fjord and Jester often vary depending on what argument the person wants to make; Molly, as opposed to Jester, is almost NEVER drawn with nonwhite features (which frankly says a LOT of unflattering things about the white queer centering, now that I think about it); etc.

And then there's "is the actor/creator racialized in real life," ie, Robbie, Aabria, Anjali, Utkarsh, Aimee, Christian, Mica, Khary, etc are all POC and the main cast are not. Most of their characters are nonwhite, but few are racialized - Shakaste, Deanna, Bor'Dor, Opal, Deni$e, and Reani do not experience racism within this setting. Genasi (as played by Anjali, Robbie, and Taliesin) are a complicated case of being tokenized/model minority within the Empire, and the Silken Squall being inspired by native culture but their role within the world only slightly touched upon such that it's hard to draw a definitive conclusion.

And, since I referenced it in the tags elsewhere, for an NPC case: Essek is racialized by the people of the Empire (as a drow) along with the rest of the Dynasty; he is not racialized within the Dynasty and is indeed in a privileged position there; and whether or not he's treated as nonwhite by the fandom depends on whether someone wants to hate on him or defend him on the basis of identity. He is an NPC, and Matt's white, but in theory could be controlled by a nonwhite GM such as Aabria, or a nonwhite player in the way that Robbie played Cerkonos.

Anyway: completely agree that a lot of people do this in the end so that they don't have to seek out like, Desiquest or Rivals of Waterdeep or Into the Motherlands or other APs run by actual real nonwhite people either because of parasocial connections to the cast, the fact that CR has a larger fandom and they want the attention, or the fact that often they are here for white queer characters and bring in nonwhite characters (and headcanons of white characters) as some kind of armor against criticism.

I think in terms of character interpretation you do need to consider both in-world (Fjord is textually treated as the racial other to the point of self-harming to fit in; you cannot treat him as The Racial Majority in the world without being noncanonical) and out-of-world (irl people are racist towards Beau) but yeah a lot of people really want to have it both ways.

This happens a lot with queerness too - one of the big backlashes I experienced during this campaign is when I pointed out that Exandria is not, in fact, a setting with systemic homophobia and Imogen's experience of being othered in Gelvaan is an extremely bad metaphor for queerness given that she can read people's minds and almost killed two people, but it is true that people irl may be homophobic towards Imogen as a character. But again, you need to be consistent in those arguments - if you are talking about in-world racism or homophobia, you cannot bring up Imogen or Beau, who do not experience these things. If you are talking about fandom racism, you can bring up Beau. And if your issue is racism and representation in the real world, you can and should push back on (for example) people being racist towards Utkarsh for daring to exist and not know every rule of D&D when Emily Axford is onscreen but also we are watching a show of 8 white people when there are other actual plays with a more diverse cast. And yeah, fanon isn't canon and if the character is only nonwhite in your mind, it is not racist of people to disagree or to not vibe with them and it's also worth checking, if you are headcanoning someone with an identity you do not personally have, to see if you're falling into harmful stereotypes. Why are you headcanoning Orym, a character who doesn't experience in-world discrimination, played by a white man, as nonwhite, instead of seeking out works with textually nonwhite or racialized characters? And why are you incapable of accepting that sometimes you'll like a character who is not on every single axis of oppression and it's like, fine, provided you work against oppression in your real world life? If your faves are always white or always men (or, frankly, always demographically like you) then maybe take a look at yourself and who you are capable of relating to, but if you have a mixture of diverse favorite characters it's fine if not every one of them checks every single box.