#DORIAN AND ESSEK BACK?????????????????

[oddthesungod]

ESSEK NATION WE STAY WINNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kerosene-in-a-blender]

Hilarious commonality between all three of the certified Critical Role Campaign Hot Bois: Has a place they can never go back to due to serious problems with the law/the mob

[tadfools]

Really really funny for Critical Role to drop their own subscription service which is named Beacon the same day the episode where Essek comes back airs

[towards-toramunda]

(I hope we get exu and the crown keepers back so that Dorian can be his chaotic insane interesting idiot [affectionate] self and we can all stop treating him like he’s just a pretty boy for Orym to pine after) *sent with invisible ink*

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

I welcome all other potential options/reasons!

[gilmores-glorious-blog]

don’t get me wrong i’m still sad fcg died, but man,, sam’s timing on that was impeccable for me personally… i hadn’t watched c3 consistently in ages and then i tuned in being like ‘oh fcg died so we’ll get some angst here or whatever’ and then i was immediately hit with the absolute batshit crazy series of events of:

- robbie coming back

- crownkeepers episode

- dorian rejoining bells hells/dorym reunion

- essek showing up

- going to aeor

- aeor miniseries dm-ed by brennan

and more things that i can’t think of right now but yeah like,, this has been a fucking WILD series of episodes and i’m so incredibly grateful i tuned back in when i did

[lostsometime]

OH MY GOD ESSEK CAME BACK?!??!!!!

AND I /MISSED IT/???!!!

[septembermonologues]

i fell half asleep after my nap alarm went off so i missed the first like ten minutes of the stream and being plunked right into combat is crazy

[zwoftt]

the "be careful, you're a heartbreaker." essek gave dorian before he left is all i needed to make up for the little dorym content we got. gut-punching feels when orym shot that argument back at dorian at the table.... i was having a bad night because of it and then boom.

[sldlovescartoons]

I’d like to put forward: I don’t think Essek was flirting, I think that was more insight into Dorian’s general personality and also Orym, but if he WERE I have thoughts.

Essek always has eyes out for potential matches for his polyamorous boyfriend to try to determine how that might go. Caleb and he are apart a lot and their libidos don’t always match great, so he understands the other might sometimes pick up another romantic partner, but Essek always vets them. Will they break his partner’s heart? Can they go magic at all? If Caleb brings them home, can he get along with them? Do they look hot? His partner should only have the best. Caleb, for the record, doesn’t understand why he does this to the degree he does, he’s had maybe a handful of other partners since his heart opened back up to love. Like over the last 7 years there’s been like 3 people and one of them was Kingsley.

[samcat18]

Dorian giving orym every last dollar to his name to buy an important magical item and explaining it by saying "i like to see you happy"

Essek talking so glowingly about his partner and how being together helps the both of them to be better and fight their demons

The whole group miming helping each other with crafts and new outfits, some of them very tipsily, and pretending to be in con crunch

Despite the slog of the shopping episode, i am THRIVING in the back half!!

[zeephyre]

CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 3 EP 95 SPOILERS

jesus christ these nerds are going to kill me.

before i get into my think piece abt... everything that transpired at the end of this episode, i would like to say this is one of the best c3 episodes.... one of my favourite episodes of all time. idk idk.

essek? smut? astrid? poly bells hells allegations?? i was already fucking sold dawg. i cannot goddamn believe that this four hour episode was... mostly... a shopping episode. i cant wait for the new art, regardless of the batshitery that happened that kinda throws my vibes off. i digress.

oh ashton greymoore i love you so much. i have been so worried abt them but honestly they're probably the lat person im concerned for currently. the grief was so compelling to watch and taliesin is a master of roleplaying as minus charisma but genuinely charismatic in his dorky awkward gruff and fumbling way. his rizz is actually just blindsiding us with earnest acts of service and comfort for his friends and i think thats so neat. im happy that they're all going to aeor with fcg intertwined throughout their outfits. its poetic and also maddeningly sweet.

(love the little callowmoore moments sprinkled through this episode... they're so real to me)

pumat was fun and i am so damn glad they got all the items matt offered cause they were all so fucking cool.

also??? sugar daddy dorian storm??? yeah i see you gay boy. dorym is so real guys we need to prepare for a confession and soon. idk i get the vibe liam is gonna drop it in the most heartbreaking way. or robbie. they're both sick in the head tbh.

loved the little queer inn that essek dragged them to and the calm before the storm was genuinely the cutest shit ever and im glad they were having fun despite everything. we got the essek and ashton dunamancy scene that i have been begging for but i cant even talk abt that right now.

before i address orym and laudna...

delilah briarwood. im gonna fucking kill you. best believe that.

theres been so much discourse on twitter abt who was right or wrong or this or that, but ultimately the point is: neither of them is RIGHT. they're both stricken with trauma and grief, and motivated by the love they have for a) the ones orym has lost and b) the one laudna is fighting not to lose. laudna WAS worried abt orym before delilah twisted that into paranoia, and orym didnt wield that fuckass blade bc he DOESNT feel sick touching it.

he says its not abt revenge but... god. orym. you want revenge. call it whatever you like but you've been angry for a while.

laudna says she KNEW the sword was cursed, but she was lying or in denial abt the fact that delilah is the one who coerced her to hold the blade in her hand.

if either of them had decided to talk to each other or the group as a whole then this could have -- most likely -- been avoided. orym decided to take the blade and shoulder the burden of what it meant and what it represented so they didnt have. laudna felt betrayed and hurt but instead of trusting orym she was manipulated back into that cunt's clutches.

i dont prescribe to trauma olympics, especially when laudna and orym never actually denied each others' trauma with otohan and that blade so i think its slightly irrelevant when discussing them both.

(i will say this... otohans blade is what killed laudna but delilah is the one who had her in a cage when she was dead. otohan murdered oryms family and there was absolutely nothing that could save them. i firmly believe THAT is what chetney meant, not that laudna hasnt suffered so we can all just... unclench a little idk)

in all the discourse, lets not forget who the real villains are -- evil milfs (delilah and otohan). delilah chose this moment to sew distrust in laudna towards orym for a reason. its like the spider queen and opal. she NEEDS laudna isolated and dependent, and she cant sink her teeth in completely if laudna has someone to fall back on.

imodna... jesus imodna breaks me every time. that entire scene on the roof while laudna looks so much like her abuser -- the woman who MURDERED her -- and having that visage fade as laudna proclaims her love for imogen. peak romance and tragedy.

it was still so upsetting hearing the echoes of delilah as laudna spoke tho. knowing her hold on laudna is getting stronger and laudna has no real faith that she will be able to fight against her. hearing her ask imogen if shes still fun scary and knowing that imogen cant tell the truth. this isnt fun anymore. laudna is in danger and imogen doesnt know how to fix it.

"I'll always love you, Laudna. I just don't know what to do with it."

its uh its not looking good for our sapphics fellas.

anyway, i do think that ashton was the emotional mvp of this episode, especially while shit was escalating. putting themself between orym and laudna, PROTECTING laudna despite knowing she attacked him, TRUSTING that she was actually telling the truth and guiding her to see the forest for the trees and apologize for an irrational choice made through a mixture of trauma, delusion and paranoia.

im... excited? for the next episode? not sure why we keep having really horrible inter-party conflict the day before going on a suicide mission but the hells are my problem babies and i have to accept that they're just little fucked up guys.

god. is it thursday yet??

(AND WHERE THE HELL IS SAM)

[rainbowcaleb]

FICLET FRIDAY— SPOILERS!

I wanted to write something new, but then the “ficlet” is becoming a proper fic. So here’s just a snippet while I finish writing the rest!

“I’m really glad you’re here with us, Dor.” Orym stays where he is, but keeps his eyes looking out. The blue lights seem to gently drift with the cold wind that has chased them all day.

“Me too. Despite what my wardrobe says, I’m glad I ended up here. With you.”

Orym really can’t turn and look now, not when his cheeks are remembering when Dorian first showed off that outfit for them all.

A voice rings out and Orym feels temporarily saved from too blushing of memories.

“Oh boys, Esseth has the dome ready!” Fearne calls out, a little echoey in the space.

“I have told you, my name is Essek.” They hear him reply.

“Ooh, well with all your face changing, who can keep it straight?”

Dorian catches Orym’s eye and they both struggle to stifle a laugh. There are many ups and downs to their travels, but their friends are all ups.

Dorian takes Orym’s hand, and gives it a squeeze. “Let’s head back.”

“Wait—“ Orym wants to hold his hand, to linger in this duet, but his eye has snagged on something in the distance. “Can you see what I’m seeing? Is that light moving towards us?”

Dorian looks back out, squinting into the dark. “Oh. Oh I think I see what you’re—“

It happens faster than either of them can expect. What was a blue spark in the city they had long left behind hurtled towards them, growing from pinprick, to beam, to a ball of light that smacks Orym in the chest.

Or it would, if Dorian hadn’t shoved Orym behind him in a split second decision. The light impacts him silently, impossibly, Dorian’s face lit bright cyan from underneath as the light dissolves into his chest. Orym’s hands are on him immediately, scrambling where the light just disappeared.

[critter-genfic-events]

This week, we have nine fics dealing with Grief or Mourning -dealing with the losses in the recent episodes of Critical Role, older losses, and imagined losses still in these character's futures. Check them out beneath the cut, and remember to comment and kudos if you like them!

divorce the first by Ink_Beneath_Her_Fingernails (3496,Not Rated) Warnings: Brief mentions of Molly's death, but it's not a focus. Pairings:

Common is the only language all of the Nein share, but it's not the first language of any of them.

Reccer says: There's such an aching sense of longing and grief and mourning in this fic that leaves you with the feeling of an old pain, almost too small to bother dealing with, not that you even could, but every day it sticks around like a rock in your shoe. It manages to slip under your defenses in a way fiction about things like death can't always do, while still touching on loss. There's also some really excellent development of worldbuilding and Wildemount here.

Proud by awaytobeunshaken (557,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast

Beau isn't sure how to feel after her father's death. Caleb tries to comfort her anyway.

Reccer says: I liked it

a white and soundless place by BeatriceEagle (7064,Teen) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death Pairings: Una Ermendrud & Caleb Widogast

A portrait of grief, from either side of the thing.

Reccer says: Una and Leofric feel like people, rather than saints.

psychopomp by hydraxx (3357,General) Warnings: Pairings: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast

Essek comes back to visit Blumenthal over the centuries after Caleb dies, while a long series of local innkeepers observe his mourning process.

Reccer says: It's a really sweet look at how Essek processes losing one of the people important to him, with background worldbuilding!

A Wisdom Without Face or Name by violettressed (17280,Teen) Warnings: major character death Pairings: Caduceus Clay & Jester Lavorre, Jester Lavorre & Essek Thelyss, Artagan & Jester Lavorre

Jester Lavorre spends a lifetime learning how to let go.

Reccer says: A great fic if you need a cry - there's little sparks of humor left by everyone being in character that make the entire thing even more heartfelt

Things to Do in Whitestone When Your Best Friend is Dead by untropicalisland (3038,General) Warnings: major character death Pairings: Ashton Greymoore & Laudna, Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Ashton Greymoore

Ashton tries to make sense of FCG's death while the party regroups in Whitestone following their return from Ruidus.

Reccer says: Ashton and FCG's relationship was so great, it's nice to see something that's got Ashton processing their death. And the Percy and Ashton's dynamic is pitch perfect and *chef's kiss*

Synonym for Tragedy by thetickingclock (1060,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Orym/Dorian Storm, Fearne Calloway & Orym & Dorian Storm, Dorian Storm & Cyrus Wyvernwind, Dorian Storm & Dariax Zaveon

Dorian and his brother. The music is different now.

Reccer says: Beautiful and haunting

like wildfire, it starts in my chest by ellis (ellabellachicketychella) (1523,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Dorian Storm & Cyrus Wyvernwind, Dorian Storm & Dariax Zaveon

If this is grief then the poems got it wrong-- or, i love how dorian's grief is rage so much. i wrote a little about it

Reccer says: A brilliant character study of Dorian after episode 93

To hold, to cut by thetickingclock (1665,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

A series of vignettes about the coping with grief through shared work

Reccer says: It felt true

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, we'll be focusing on Fjord Stone! Know of something focusing on his backstory, or maybe his interior life during the campaign, that orphanage heist that happened after? You should rec it!

After that, we'll be changing things up a bit. Mentorship will be happening on the 15th, but after that, we're going to switch to a twice a month schedule - starting with Scanlan.

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

Oh! Also! Critter Gen Week is happening! We've been using the themes for our reclist - so if you're inspired by what you're reading, consider writing (or making art) for that week!

[panderp123]

Guess who’s back

⚠️ Spoilers to Ep94 ⚠️

AAHHHHHH!! I’m beyond happy 😆 my sis came in who doesn’t watch CR at all but was shocked that Essek showed up again!

Long haired Essek 🤤!!

It’s also kinda funny Essek is taking them to a kinky store 🤣.

AAAHHH AKAKSKDNEKSODKHSUS!! My two boys Essek & Dorian in the same room 😩💙

[featherlesswings]

I know they’ll never comprehend this but a thing I have noticed and get tickled about in regards to Travis Willingham & That Type of CR fan is this.

Them: Travis is Like Us. He is an Alpha Male, he is a True Man. He *hates* playing his weird little old man character and can’t wait to kill him, and was CLEARLY mad that Sam brought him back. He *actually* wants to play a minmaxed hyper masculine ideal character, but they *won’t let him*

Travis : EHEHEHEHEHEHE dirty old man humor!!! EHHEHEHEHE Chetney is so fun and silly and weird, I am having the best time!!! Also Essek with long hair is HOT. Also I hope the girl I RP’d a threesome with gets with the non-binary rock barbarian, because they’re cute together! Also I REALLY hope Orym & Dorian bang!! Also Chetney’s naked again, lol WHOOPSIES!

Like. How can they be THAT obtuse? This is why I typically stay out of the youtube comments. This type of guy is either complaining about female players/their characters being “OP” or announcing what Travis is *actually* feeling or wishing he could do or wants to do next. Don’t get me started on how much they complained about Fjord giving up his patron and “downgrading/becoming weak.” They really don’t get that that was a combination of Travis not wanting to play an evil character, and going with what made sense for his character as a huge boy scout at heart who didn’t want to be incredibly powerful. He just wanted to be a good leader.