every episode with essek in it before the Reveal is so funny because he’s there for maybe 45 minutes max and he spends a third of this time staring deeply into caleb’s eyes, another third giving away state secrets, and the other third saying the most out of pocket batshit things like he expected his swag to carry him through any trials and/or tribulations. he called beau’s cocktail racist and then dipped. they invite him in to dinner and he’s like ‘yeah i made my dad so angry he died. normal. anyways what are your innermost driving motivations, wishes, and fears? is this how conversation works?’ and the nein collectively were just like it’s ok he’s hot. and you KNOW he’s all up in his mind with the whole tortured genius melancholy resignation sadness angst thing and it’s like baby no you’re just bizarre and unusual. god.

Do you know what a bunch of wizards in one place is? Fucking trouble.

Essek: me! (@_brookesmart_ on other socials)

Caleb: @toodarling (@ tory.hatcher on other socials)

Photography by Jessi Wills

Cosplays made by us :)

Today’s Autistic character of the day is:

Essek Thelyss from Critical Role

Shadowhand Essek Thelyss, loml and war criminal meow meow. babygirl

[ prints ]

working with light n shit here

matts reaction to the essek shirt!!! sir I'm kicking my feet and giggling you can't just be like this

endless possibility 🔮

Silly little post-Echoes Of The Solstice comic, I like to think Essek was oblivious to the entire evil-wizard-making-threats-on-his-life situation

[ID in ALT text]

to be loved is to be changed

OK, but I love that Essek might be appearing in the Mighty Nein series before he meets the Nein! It's not just me wanting More Essek (though I do) or wanting to see more of what was going on with his dealings with the Assembly (which I also do). I think this could be super fucking interesting from a narrative construction standpoint.

Because I cannot see how you can include Essek from early in the series and not make it clear to the audience that he's the Dynasty traitor loooong before the Nein find out. Essek having stolen the beacons will not be a surprise. It looks to me like the cast are swapping out surprise for a fuckton of suspense. (Suspense vs surprise was explained to me when I was studying narrative structure as 'surprise is when a bomb goes off that the audience didn't know was there. Suspense is when they see the bomb being placed and have to sit there begging the characters to realise it's there.' In this analogy, Essek is the bomb.)

When we watched C2, the question was is Essek the traitor? In the M9 show, the question for new watchers will be when will the Nein realise that Essek is the traitor? When Essek meets the Nein, the countdown starts ticking; people will know that he is a danger. He is manipulating them. He is going to hurt them. Will the Nein realise before it's too late? But then Essek starts really befriending them, showing more of his loneliness and vulnerability, and... I think the mood will shift. Oh, shit, he really cares about them, doesn't he? What will the Nein do if they find out? Do I even want them to find out? What if they reject him and it makes him worse? He can't keep this up much longer, this is unbearable, they're going to find out - OH FUCK THEY'RE FINDING OUT -

It's such a fascinating choice and I think it goes to show that adaptation is an art form in itself! The actual events in the world will be the same, or at least very similar, but a new format means you can show those events in a totally new way and create a completely different tone! Narrative structure is the fucking coolest! I'm so excited for this show!

essek 🪄 🍜shadowhand ✨🎆 traitor ⌛️📚 floating ⭐️💫 purple 🌈☂️

“Caleb and Essek would be together for a while…”

Essek: Me! (@_brookesmart_ on other platforms)

Caleb: Tory Hatcher (@tory.hatcher)

Photography: Jessi Wills

Cosplays made by us in a two day crunch :)

My half of our Essek art trade with the amazing @zmeess ! I've been obsessed with this Aeor outfit they designed for him since forever...♡

Endless 4SD

i almost want to do an expression sheet for him so i force myself to expand past his rbf. but its so easy and fun to draw him with one

Caleb and Essek style explorations for an upcoming project, might even do some character turn arounds for reference