Caduceus Clay
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Caduceus Clay |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | Cornelius Clay (father), Constance Clay (mother), Corrin (aunt), Clarabelle Clay (sister), Colton Clay (older brother), Calliope Clay (sister) |
| Fandom: | Critical Role |
| Other: | Played by Taliesin Jaffe |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Caduceus Clay is a Firbolg cleric played by Taliesin Jaffe on a popular D&D web series Critical Role in Campaign 2 after the loss of Mollymauk Tealeaf. Due to his difficult first name, Caduceus has a lot of nicknames both in-game and outside of the game.
Fandom
The most popular Caduceus ship appears to be Caduceus/Fjord.
When his family was introduced, a lot of fans found they could relate to Caduceus much more:
Having seen Cad’s parents’ reaction to his “I’m sorry I left, I know I wasn’t supposed to,” makes me suddenly relate to Cad like whoa. Because nobody ever told him he had to stay! Nobody ever said, “It’s a good thing Cad will stay home so we can all go on our quests!” He just… concluded that from the atmosphere and then put that on himself. I get that! When you have a sibling - especially an older sibling - or, in Cad’s case, several siblings - who are kind of wild and Difficult, nobody has to tell you that your parents are stressed and need a break, you just know it. And becoming The Good Kid, the One Who Doesn’t Cause Problems becomes a very appealing identity to inhabit. And it’s hard to deal with later!!! Because you’re fucked up in the same way someone is when somebody does tell them ‘oh it’s so good that you’re Good and Not a Problem,’ but they didn’t do that to you, YOU did that to you! Somebody was telling you those things, but it wasn’t your parents, it was your own shitty anxious brain that attached your entire self-worth to having Quiet and Good be Your Thing. [1]
In episode 114, which aired during Ace Week, Caduceus confirmed in canon that he was asexual. Taliesin admitted in a Twitter reply that he was sitting on that reveal for a while, wanting to go about it naturally[2]. A lot of fans reacted very positively. Asexual Critters appreciated the representations[3]. Some even mentioned that the fact it wasn't an in the moment decision, but something Taliesin decided a long time ago meant even more[4][5]. In a follow-up tweet, it was also confirmed that Caduceus is aromantic[6].
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfic
Fanart
Fanvids
Meta
- Caduceus’s whole fate and faith thing so completely fascinating, Archived version - It’s just so, so fascinating to me, watching Caduceus decide that he Knows How This Is Destined To Go, and then working towards that end he’s decided is fated. And then all his efforts mean things actually go that way and of course they did, it was fate! Or else they don’t, and something else was fate. And you can’t even quite argue against it, not even on a meta level, because maybe each and every die was meant to come down on the number it landed on (except I don’t, can’t believe that about the real world).
- What’s Up Doc? or, some thoughts about Team Cleric a.k.a Team Emotional Repression, Archived version - He is a fixed point and the others revolve around him and interact with him. It’s a really interesting place of control, and minimal vulnerability. It’s a very powerful thing and the Nein feed into that power, they provide him power and purpose via their emotional vulnerability.
Links
- Caduceus Clay] page on Critical Role Wiki
- Caduceus Clay tag on AO3
- #caduceus clay tag on Tumblr
References
- ^ having seen Cad's parents..., Archived version
- ^ Twitter post by Taliesin Jaffe, accessed 31 October 2020
- ^ "In all seriousness, @executivegoth I hope you realize what an incredible gift you have given to every ace critter this Ace Week." - tweet by user @acappellageek, accessed 31 October 2020
- ^ "I can't express how much it means to see you say this, Caduceus being ace already had me feeling all emotional, but knowing that you've intended it all along and have been so invested in telling that narrative with such care..... it's pretty dang incredible. Thank you so much." - tweet by use @werewulver, accessed 31 October 2020
- ^ ""I've been sitting on this for ages" means the world to me, not to mention "gonna come up naturally" You did us SO RIGHT in ways no one else has, and my heart is bursting with joy" - tweet by user @BlueArmyMan117, accessed 31 October 2020
- ^ Tweet by executivegoth, Archived version Nov 12 2020 (accessed April 3 2021)