broke: ira is somehow tied into the C2 late campaign Ira

woke: Matt knows someone named Ira who just SUCKS, and so now villains can be called Ira

I fully expect to watch Ira crashing the ship, cackling like a madman, Xandis clinging onto him screaming, half delight and half terror, all adrenaline. 

You cannot tell me this was not Ira and Xandis when Fearne and Letters left the skyship.

I am. A little leery about the idea of letting Ira know of their plans or location, given he’s got blue/orange morality at best and has been opposed to the Hells before? Is it just me? Maybe don’t give the creepy fae too much information?

Laudna says hi. (C3E49 || C3E87) bonus:

Double date with the Nightmare king (real)

Surprise bitch

I think the funniest thing that came out of this episode is the casual lore drop that Ira has no fucking money and has to do odd jobs to fund his research projects and that he has been doing this for DECADES. Like this goddamn fey creature who looks like a nine foot tall Jack Skellington cosplayer stumbles into the material plane and even he’s affected by the job crisis.

ira's five-year plan

im honestly very happy ira is one of if not the most beloved npc of campaign 3. and while i know most of his surface level appeal is the sheer unhinged faeishness of him, i think it fundamentally comes down to ira, despite his most un-human everything, being the most Man in his struggles as a fae can get.

as early as his intro he was set apart by past established fae, by working on technology, wearing a tattered suit. he was kicked out of the courts and the vanguard after they asked him to create their war weapons. he is a veteran of a mortal war, and got no accolades. he has spent 3 decades living in caves, taking the shittiest jobs imagineable just to get by, even torturing folk for his shit bosses again (the treshi job) because cash is cash. he knows folk will Just Die if they cant keep up and accepts it bluntly. his voice creaks with age & experience in the dust. it is easy to pin his pettiness & need for vengeance solely on the intensity of a fae til you see that he approaches even those goals with the rusty, tired caution of a man who was a spy, who understands the gravity of war, whose bosses have screwed him over so badly they made he, the nightmare king, scared.

he is a victim of the greed of the rich, easily isolated and made a scapegoat as a sole evil by them. he has lived a life with absolutely no lavish design. even artagan, whom i love with all my heart and find deep relateability in, is so disconnected with mortality at first, in large part because he was a literal fae lord. when vox machina adjusted the leylines to let artagan into exandria, ira was locked out of his home at the same time. ira has lived in the grime of the worst the fae courts and humanity has to offer, wanting to make a mark but always being a pawn hurt by a grand design. and so, while he clearly & obviously knows the difference between mortal & fae, he also knows there's really no defined line between who can hurt you worse... and how it shapes you. does your callousness begin with your fae nature, with everyone deeming you a monstrosity, or with your experience at the bottom rung? it all ends the same, regardless. i think it is fascinating to see the classism & even capitalism choking exandria and its sister realms, and ira is so fascinating because he is the primary example we have of that happening to a fae, and we get to see how that has gruffly shaped someone who could have been as utterly unphased & whimsical as a flower in the breeze.

Ira, uncomfortably sensually: We're....... friends......🥺🥺🥺🥺😈😈😈😘 right 😘🤫🥺 😈😈😈

Ashton, stonefaced: I'm more comfortable with "colleagues" at this point.

Thought I’ve been stewing over:

Jester, but the fey being that reached out to play with her was The Nightmare King

If matthew mercer didnt want me to draw this guy he would not have named him Ira Wendagoth or made him 10 feet tall or given him unnaturally long arms with spidery fingers or gave him a big grin with sharp teeth or

the bell's hells: uMMMM

ira, known nightmare king:

I'm working on an Ashton inspired cosplay, and thought about the puck/diy look that they have, everything put together from other clothing items. Then I wondered if they'd take the same approach/if he'd ever do his own cosplay and went "Wait...he cosplayed as The Nightmare King at the ball!"

There's a big overlap with punk and nerd circles in my life idk if it's the same everywhere else, so this comes as no surprise.