T-T-T-Taking Over, TEENAGE REBELLION!

The Mighty Nein really are the “tonight we cancel the apocalypse” party, because that is the attitude of the patently insane and patently hypercompetent in ways that are too insane to be real and yet WORK. VM have Big Justice League energy. They’re saving the world by the book. They’re very much the epitome of their classes. This is not a knock. They are good at what they do, but their flair is extremely straightforward. Percy is gonna shoot fifty times a round. Keyleth is gonna archdruid her little heart out. Grog’s gonna smash. Scanlan is gonna sing a little song. That’s them! We like that for them! But it is very straightforward clock in/clock out heroism. They have day jobs now.

I’m not gonna be unfair to BH right now because I think they haven’t really figured out their niche yet and are constantly stuck in the mindset of not actually being heroes and being, and I say this out of love for their stupid little faces, selfish little turds. We might get a better idea later on when we come back to them as high level adventurers after how they shake out here, but so far they’re somewhere in the middle. A little Suicide Squad-y.

The M9 on the other hand are not clock in/clock out heroes. They’re barely heroes. They get told something could be a threat and they deal with it and they won’t just kill you, they will EMBARRASS you. They will act like you’re nothing and bet on fight outcomes mid-combat, call you names, hit you with lollipops and dicks, turn you into a fruit bat, whatever they have to. They’ll ruin your action economy, stun you, whatever. Not only did they come to stop you, you’ll be shamed so hard that your Lich won’t even want to rise again to seek vengeance because you know they’ll do it again. They’re canceling the apocalypse not because the one doing it is dead, but because they’re so demoralized there’s no gong forward. When the Mighty Nein come for your plans, your plans DO NOT survive because they’ve had dicks drawn all over them.

Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson is literature's best King.

'But he ain't the king!' I hear you cry. Even though everyone knows better. He's the King of Ahnk Morpork, by birthright and fact. It's hard to deny, given all the evidence.

But what makes Carrot the best King isn't that he sits on a throne or makes proclamations or wears a crown. He does not, in fact, DO any of that. This is remarkable, given the number of Kings you can find on the Disc that go all in on the usual trappings of the job.

No, what makes Carrot the best King is HOW he, for lack of a better term, rules his people.

He does not rule the city. The Patrician does that, and quite well. But Carrot does rule his people, and he does it with a touch so light, so soft, many of them barely realize he does it.

Part of this is his upbringing. Dwarfs, by and large, do not wring their hands and worry about what tomorrow will bring because, down in a mine, getting to tomorrow is certainly not a guarantee. There is only what is in front of you, and what you can do about it.

Carrot brings this attitude with him everywhere. He shares it with others. He shows his people, by simple dint of a fresh perspective, that what they can do about what is in front of them is not limited by the concerns of tomorrow or the grudges of history.

Yes, lad, you could absolutely stab this other lad because he broke your mate's nose that one time when you were all scrapping over who got what rubbish from the pile. OR, you could put the knife down and join in this game involving the ball I happen to have right here because what lad doesn't like a bit of sport.

Yes, sir, you could try running all of those foreigners you dislike so much out of the city with threats of violence. OR, you could come along with me to this cozy little curry shop that, would you look at that, has been here for ages because the owners are every bit the Morporkian you are, they just handle direct sunlight a tad better by tanning.

Yes, my lord, maybe you should call the guard and have this impudent troll removed from your property. OR, begging your pardon sir of course, but since I AM a guard and that particular troll is Seargeant Detritus, perhaps you should assist us with our inquires regarding this seemingly innocuous murder Commander Vimes seems quite invested in.

And the magical part is that his people DO what he tells them. Suggests to them. They can't help it. And Carrot, despite appearances, knows it.

He KNOWS the power he has over people. And THIS is how he chooses to use it: domestic disputes, police work, and helping out where he can. He doesn't want a throne or a crown. He just wants to help. He wants his people to BE better, not because he says so, but because he knows they CAN be, and they just need to recognize that for themselves.

Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson is literature's best King, because the best a King can be is a servant to, a champion of, and a cheerleader for his people. And Carrot would rather die before he failed at being all of those things, simultaneously, and all the time.

a special treat for those of us who enjoy watching sam reich torture his friends and/or employees

i must say, the move to put pinocchio's mini on a stick so he can skeddaddle on the board in the minis cut scenes is fucking hilarious i laughed every time it happened

V. Magisterial Destruction

On the trail of treachery, Laerryn and Patia bust in on the Magisterium, decimating Micah Cormorant...

hear me out

Fan art for Worlds Beyond Number (Found wherever podcasts are)

WBN animatic "The Vote"

More people need to see this (I did NOT make this, just wanted more people to see it since I never saw it on Tumblr, it was made by Furcula on YouTube)

Ligament Manor! Home of Nana Morri and Fearne, just an idyllic place in the middle of the Fey Realm.

Illustration for Critical Role

Thanks to Kyle Shire and Matthew Mercer for the opportunity and their guidance though both the new pieces revealed in tonight’s stream!

Brennan Lee Mulligan, Dimension 20: The Ravening War, 2023

Gustav Courbet, The Desperate Man, 1843