#cr 140

[rebexquest]

You feel in this place of cold stillness, of death and vacancy... a warm breeze that smells sweet...

and then there were nine and I sobbed like a baby

[linootte]

Thank you Critical Role for deciding to air the last episode the day of my final exam... IM GONNA DIE. No but for real, I love these characters so much. Ive watched hundreds of hours and I regret none of it. Thank to this show for being my little bubble of warmth for two years of my life ~

[criticalserotonin]

Before 140 aired, I saw a lot of people angry that this is the arc that C2 is ending on. People that couldn't understand why they were ending with an arc that wasn't personal to a member of the Nein. But that arc is personal to all the members of the Nein.

They didn't go and fight Lucien for themselves. Or to the save world. They didn't do it to be heroes. That wasn't what the Aeor was about for them in the slightest.

They did it for Molly. For the slightest chance that Molly was in there and would be despising everything that his body was doing without his control. For the chance to make Molly's story right again. For the reason that no member of the Nein gets left behind.

As Veth said, "The only thing we've done consistently as a group is take care of our friends."

And that's why the Aeor arc was the best arc to end on. Because they're not heroes for the world. They're heroes for their friends.

[teliz20]

Ok, so. I was rewatching the end of episode 140 for the *mumble*th time, trying to pinpoint the exact moment Taliesin decided to cast divine intervention. And I don’t know if I found it, but I think I found when Caduceus started to consider it. It was when Fjord started talking to Essek about how death isn’t the end, just the next part of the trip. Taliesin looked so impressed with Travis. I think that moment really exemplified how much the M9 had grown in Caduceus’ eyes.

When Caduceus met the Nein, they were desperate. They were searching for a way to bring Molly back. But Caduceus’ faith is all about respecting death and not trying to subvert it. He saw their broken hearts and realized he could shepherd them through their grief until they accepted it. And he did. He travelled with them saw how their grief pushed them forward. Drove them to leave every thing better. Saw them return to where Molly was buried months later to gather information, and he saw they still were considering resurrection. They had not yet accepted that he was gone and never coming back. And now that ‘Lucien’ was up and walking their desperation returned. They chased after the Tomb Takers, desperate to find their friend. Throughout their journey in Eiselcross they were debating how much of Molly within Lucien, and if they could draw him out. Even in the final fight they were calling to Molly, to try and connect with that part of Lucien. And after defeating Lucien, they tried one final time to bring Molly back.

But it failed. The odds were not on their side. Either there was no part of Molly left, or he had already passed on and could not be recovered. But in the end, they were left with nothing but the body of their friend. And everyone accepts it. Everyone except Essek. Essek didn’t know Molly, he hasn’t been with the Nein for long. He is not as far along his path of growth as the rest of them. He still wants to bend the world to his will, bend fate and chance. And he doesn’t believe that this is fair. And Fjord assures him it’s not fair. But he and the others have accepted that the world isn’t fair. That sometimes you get the shit end of things. But he also recognizes that they are but one small part of the world. And it wouldn’t be fair for the world to bend around them. He sees that death is a part of life, and when it comes its not the end but just a change. A change to a great unknown that is natural and beautiful. And that’s when Caduceus sees that, he knows the Nein have changed. They are no longer trying to fight the current but accept where it will take them. They start to plan Molly’s burial; they discuss what Molly will turn into now that he’s gone. And Caduceus thinks they’ve earned a little bit of unfairness.

I am a strong believer that those who seek power should not hold it. That the desire for power makes even the most well-intentioned people unfit to wield it. And Caduceus saw that the Mighty Nein no longer were seeking to subvert death. They had finally reached the acceptance stage of their grief. And they had done so by literally fighting and killing the man who looked like their friend, because that’s what had to be done to protect the natural cycle of life. That is how they earned it, not by thinking it was due to them. But by using their grief to do good. And just imagine the good they could do with the joy of resurrection.

[edbydawn]

I didn’t think I would be trying to put this out so soon, but I just can’t stop thinking about 140. Can’t wait to see what we’ve got left. <3 

[whiteswordmoon]

[reupload] 

"Whatever it was, put it back" ✨ 

 A little Comic about the Raven Queen's side of things. Perhaps this was destiny's way of making up for a certain champion.

Thank you Mighty Nein!

[criticallydeficient]

Listen. All I’m saying is. I did not think that’s what Essek was upset over.

[jukeboxhiro]

One of (out of the many) things that I love about Mollymauk’s return is that the Mighty Nein finally lived up to their name, but they also did more than that.

Nein being “No” in German (Zemnian) gave the title a sort of jokey feel to it, like “oh, we’re NOT Mighty, haha” and honestly, at that point in the campaign it was true. All of them were scared individuals who were sunk in their own weaknesses, broken people who thought themselves unworthy of fixing.

But together, they managed to help each other, to lift each other up to new heights, to pull themselves together and become strong, to love each other. And tonight, finally, they were able to swap a few letters in their title around.

In the end, they did become Mighty, just as they became Nine.