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I do often feel that there's a weird difficulty with Essek in fandom where folks really want to speculate on what other horrible things he did—and I am not saying he didn't do other horrible things, because I am SO certain he did, and it's certainly fun to speculate simply for the sake of speculation— but specifically in a way that makes it feel that they... don't think what he canonically did was enough to justify how horrible and evil he is suggested to have been.

This happens a lot with his role in the prison, which we don't actually know anything about. There is no confirmation that he was the one personally torturing prisoners for information, and arguably I think the evidence better supports circumstances in which he was overseeing or observing—which means he was at best party to torture and could include making decisions about how, when, and why it was done, which is arguably worse than carrying it out! That is the evil of the bureaucratic war machine and in particular those who are more than willing and in fact happy to feed and further it, which is all too relevant to the modern day.

We honestly don't know much of anything about what he was up to during the war before the Nein show up, aside from being excited about it for the potential dunamantic applications that could be developed during wartime, but given his frustrations and the directives he seems to have to focus on retrieving the beacons, it's entirely possible that he never got the chance to do any of that research—in fact, it is arguably important to his character and motivations that he was not placed in a position to do so, as a lack of allowance for dunamantic research is his biggest gripe with the Dynasty and his position.

What we do know is that he deliberately framed someone for crimes that he had committed. That is so incredibly fucked up, regardless of what other sins Adeen Tasithar may have been guilty of. And though Essek expresses regret in hindsight for his role in how the war developed and collaborating with the Assembly, the last word we get on framing Tasithar in episode 99 is complete apathy.

I draw attention to this because this is what I think often gets ignored in the pursuit of coming up with what he's "really" guilty of. This was true from the beginning—when the Wildemount guide came out, not even a week after 99 aired, there were people shocked that Essek was listed as neutral evil and that he was characterized as very much gleeful about the prospect of violence. I have a distinct recollection of a post of outright dismay that the fact that he was evil meant you couldn't stan him anymore. The obvious absurdity of that statement aside, this was, I must stress again, not even a week after Essek had stated in no uncertain terms that he did not care what happened to the person he'd essentially thrown under a fucking Sherman tank.

And in the other direction, it feels still like there is a sense that interrogating any altruistic or even sympathetic motives for these actions, or even other actions he took concurrent with them, is assumed to be a softening of his character. It is not mutually exclusive to suggest that he always had the capacity and perhaps even inclination for the fondness and love he has for the Nein and also to believe that what he did prior was appalling; in fact, it's the fundamental basis of his character that allows him to grow as he does. But neither is it necessary to invent sins in order to prove his evil—what has been shown and stated in canon is evil enough.

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"wolves, dire in nature" what a way to describe direwolves, matt

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"you have very diverse biodomes in your eyes" only peak lesbian flirting happening during early campaign watches, honestly

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The teaser has me thinking thoughts so here’s a redraw wip!

I loveeee them, feeling insane rn

Will I ever finish this, god only knows

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Eadwulf’s life is a series of hilarious mistakes.

Confused? Here’s the first comic.

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ok can I be honest. I always thought Essek actually stole the beacons himself. like it does make total sense that they would send in scourgers but this whole time I was picturing him like. putting them in his wristpocket and walking away. does anyone get me

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the introduction of Keg is absolutely like. top guest character intros of all time. Honestly I forgot how hilarious this episode was until. you know. the end.

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A side-by-side of the Mighty Nein animated designs next to the original Campaign 2 art by Ari

For literally no reason other than me wanting to have a way to look at everyone's Level 2 and adapted designs all at once

Bonus Essek:

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it always hits

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i will never get sick of how much into lore travis is. matt will throw down some name the others don't remember and travis immediately clocks it and gets excited

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+ Bonus Yasha

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Happy Showcase Day Y’all!

This time @artists-guild-of-exandria presents the Art History Style Swap #AHSS

Paying homage to some of our personal art inspirations through our love of Critical Role 💜

In graphite and pencil is my take on an MC Escher classic, reframed as

‘Hand with Reflecting Beacon’ found in the journal of a particular mage.

_________________

In years to come, a book now lives in the inner archives of the Cobalt Soul. Like many around it, it is a journal, and as such gives a history surrounding some of the most defining years of Exandria.

This particular tome also seems to be a sketchbook.

Most of the drawings are precise in execution yet appear to have little relation to the writings, occasionally annotated with sentiment rather than context.

One such note, scrawled in an antiquated form of Kryn Undercommon accompanies what is theorised to be a self-portrait.

‘I often wonder if I truly thanked you for sharing your skill of art with me, my friend. It is a cruel jest indeed that time has seen to it that I will never know.’

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to be loved is to be changed

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I love that the M9 show is going to focus on the political aspect of the campaign more. I think the political background of Campaign 2 puts it a head and shoulders above any other in my eyes.

Because the story of the Empire is deeply realistic. An imperial monarchy pillages from neighboring countries for their own benefit, taking relics that are sacred amongst a people and perverting them for their own benefit. Taking poor children from farming towns and promising them a bright future if they manage to rise above their ranks, only to then poach them from their schools and make them into weapons for their country. No one would miss them, unlike the rich kids with rich families.

The Dynasty is a theocratic monarchy and dealing with war while their neighboring countries steal their cultural artifacts for their own gain. The war is leeching resources from them and leading them to neglect their people as a result, leaving a lot of their people to fend for themselves against the dangers of their lands.

Nearly all of Campaign 2 focuses on the dangers of systems and institutions as well as personal responsibility for people living within these systems.

Caleb's story touches on the connections between classism and nationalism, Beau's is the corruption of institutions and the ruling class, Veth's is about the dissatisfaction of ticking the boxes because you think it's what you should be doing, Jester's touches on the politics surrounding sex workers and restriction on religion within the Empire, Fjord's the mistreatment and lack of support of kids who have been orphaned and fell through the cracks, Yasha's on persecution for marrying who she loves and being taken advantage of by organizations while in a vulnerable state, and Caduceus' on the benefits of religion on a personal level.

By highlighting the the Empire, Dynasty (and Menagerie Coast), and the impact of the war and religion in every country, we get to see more of the politics that shaped these people's lives. Both why they did the things they did and how they are all a product of the systems that raised them. It adds nuance to the personal perspectives of our main heroes while also fleshing out the world they live in.

Vox Machina was a classic story of defeating monsters and gods for a brighter future, Mighty Nein is human story about the cruelty and kindness of mankind, and for that you need a fleshed out world and characters. This seems like a really good way to achieve that nuance with an eighth of the campaign runtime.

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The greatest thing about LOVM and now LOM9 was that it was originally just supposed to be a two episode special

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can i just say i'm so glad they're not toning down how balls to the walls insane and horny nott is. like they really said that girl wants to drink and fuck and steal and this WILL be a general audience's first impression of her. INSTANT remedy to people misidentifying her as a child because of her size