ahastycrblog

A side-blog I literally created to rant about Critical Role

[ahastycrblog]

While I do not like this update, and agree that it is a terrible change that benefits no one but the worst users on this site, I am not panicking quite yet as I've been on this site for YEARS and have gone through this sort of thing many times (though this is quite egregious).

That being said, for anyone who might want to follow me on bluesky, it's @drac-kool-aid.bksy.social. I'll actually post something on there one of these days.

And if that username seems familiar from Dracula Daily posting, then surprise, same person.

[undead-knick-knack]

Gonna put one of these stickers on each of their foreheads

[luckthebard]

There is a part of me that thinks there’s a possible fascinating opening for Bolaire as a character to explore the idea of like. How much are you willing to tolerate or endorse someone whose autonomy requires the destruction of another person’s autonomy? Where do we draw the line of competing needs if one individual’s need causes ongoing harm to a series of people? Do you trust anyone to only perpetuate that harm against “bad” people? Who gets to decide what is morally “bad”?

But I’m also still not convinced the narrative is interested in exploring this deeply and not just sitting in “yeah he takes people’s bodies and imprisons their minds but don’t think about it too hard”.

[saintessinthegutter]

summer wicanny

[captainofthetidesbreath]

really fascinating Bolaire earnestly and genuinely agrees with Tsul'rekshi that he loathes captivity with all his heart. meanwhile, in the back of his mind there's a box containing the Crow Keeper whose body he's wearing, a man "who's been in jail, but never one like this, beating against the bars, screaming"

[foldbaron]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!! 🌈

[dol-makjarcoffeehouse]

Bolaire Lathalia can be worn by someone voluntarily. Someone can wear him on purpose. He does not have to trick people into wearing him and take their lives and kill them. He can be worn by volunteers.

We know this. This is an established fact. This is how he worked up until he gained agency.

This is the context in which he kills.

In order to discuss whether or not he's a serial killer, you have to start with the fact that he deliberately chooses murder over pursuing other options, which he does have.

He can be worn by someone who chooses to wear him. He 100% knows this.

A lot of people have done a lot of murder apologia for Bolaire about how he has to do this for survival, but he doesn't. Like, flat out, he doesn't have to kill to continue to exist. He could choose to work with people and find compatible partners who are willing.

He doesn't.

[voltazart]

Can’t say I loved it but eh can’t say I really hate it

Anyway young Julien. He’s so happy here, bebe

It had to be a two set piece but eeeeh I don’t like the poses or the rendering sooooo

Eeeeh maybe I’ll redo it someday

[revvethasmythh]

[graevelabyss]

and then azune burst into tears

[lnuns]

He's a lady's favored vassal and Dol-Makjar's favorite rake. He's haunted by shadows no one else sees and hunting specters that have taken everything. He's loyal and snarky and hiding too much.

He is Sir Julien Davinos, Jack of Hearts

[vasira96]

wanted to draw Tyranny without her aspirant robes

[trailertrashgrog]

this aside is so interesting. the creed is around 40 years old. or, more accurately i think, the creed as a profitable enough venture to warrant a lavish new home for the halovars (which includes the torture basement for aetheon) and a big fancy cathedral is around 40 years old, which is a very short amount of time for a religion to be around and gaining traction

like, godard is certainly older than 40 (if zebani is nearly 30 he's gotta be at least pushing 50) so clearly yanessa had access to aetheon at least a decade before the creed became even a minorly successful religion, and he had to be moved into dol-makjar to centralize operations, which explains why they built it "quickly"

a cult moved into the neighborhood and everyone was just like

okay....... y'all just stay over there

[nuisdrawing]

"Tell me you love me and everything will be fine" "I love you. Everything is going to be more than fine"

[elleskinner-justart]

Draw Everything June: Day 1

@adorkastock's Draw Everything June is here again! Hooray! I had a wonderful time doing these last year so I'm going to see if I can rise to the challenge again :)

Kicking off with Murray from the current season of Critical Role. I think it's a fun playful pose for her, but seeing her looking so innocent I immediately assume she's up to something.

[felderwin]

granted a hilarious way of putting this. but I don’t. um. I don’t think that’s what happened

[felderwin]

liam: yeah I think caleb has an unrequited crush on jester

matt apparently:

[kerosene-in-a-blender]

It's interesting that once Tyranny got the chance to have a proper conversation with Araq, which was after she'd heard Tsul'rekshi chastising her for her true belief in the Candescent Creed and herself committed a dimming in front of her (speaking to Tsul'rekshi in Demonic), she played along with Araq's perceptions of her. She pretended she had been saved by the Creed as an Aspirant and tried to give Araq the advice she asked for on how she might do the same, even as Tyranny herself knows the Creed is fake and using her sisters as a way to control people and firmly believes that as a demon she is incapable of being saved herself.

And what makes this so interesting to me is this isn't dissimilar to how she interacts with Wick. Like with Araq, she plays along with Wick's sincere belief in something she knows isn't real, to the point that she attempted to let him down gently when she learned his family were going to tell the truth to him. She makes a show for him of trying to learn and embody the Shining Tenets even as she knows it's meaningless lies meant to control people that will do nothing to save her from the Pit. She speaks the words and platitudes of the Creed without believing them herself because she knows it makes him happy for her to play along and let him think he's saving her.

It makes sense that this is also the playbook she uses speaking with Araq, because this is the only way she's ever known to interact with someone who is a true believer in the Creed: play along and let them keep their illusion. Notably she's been doing this much less with Wick now that he knows the Creed is fake, the illusion is broken with him so she doesn't have to work to maintain it anymore. But she does with Araq, even though she just as easily could have let her in on the ruse as a fellow sister of the Pit. But she doesn't, and I wonder if part of why is that there is a part of her that wants to believe as Araq does, to have full and sincere faith a demon can be saved. Because that's part of why she sticks with Wick and is helping him defy his family, as much as she knows he can't, she deeply admires Wick for trying to save her and believing that he can. There's a part of her that wants to believe she isn't doomed for being what she is, even if she thinks that part of her is foolish. So for a demon who fully thinks she can be saved, she plays the part and lets her keep believing.