#It’s just that their priorities are on the people of Exandria

[willowbirds]

Do Bell’s Hells understand the motivations of the Ruby Vanguard and believe that people shouldn’t be forced to worship the gods: Yes

Do they want to release Predathos and have them eat the gods: No

This whole situation in Exandria is incredibly complicated and Bell’s Hells are right in the middle of it and likely don’t know how to properly handle it. The one thing they do know is that they can’t let Predathos get out, because it could spell death for Exandria. They may be indifferent about the gods, but they know that what the Vanguard is doing is wrong and won’t stand for it.

[dol--blathanna]

Thinking a lot about Orym choosing a rabbit when asked what animal he would pick if cursed with lycanthropy.

Because, it makes sense. Orym is small, quick, agile, jumps well, and is highly perceptive. That definitely evokes rabbit imagery. But a lot of Orym’s identity is also tied up with being a protector – giving people AC bumps, the shield being as much a part of his fighting style as his sword, even his title: Saviour Blade of the Tempest. He wants to be a “Shield that protects Exandria”; his priorities about saving the gods are less about the gods themselves, and more about protecting the people of Exandria from the unintended consequences and bloodshed of releasing Predathos. And it would’ve been very easy to pick a large, strong predator to try and evoke the sense of a protector – a wolf, for example, an animal associated with loyalty and protecting its pack. Yet Orym chose a rabbit.

And I think that’s interesting, because rabbits are often seen as ‘cute’ animals – but they’re also a prey animal. In fact, they’re a common food source for many animals across several ecosystems: foxes, wolves, wild cats, dogs, birds of prey like eagles or owls, coyotes, stoats, and humans (and that’s just off the top of my head). Rabbits are skittish, easily frightened; to be rabbit-hearted is to be timid or cowardly. They are not generally associated with fierceness or prowess in fighting. Mice and rats are prey animals too, but typically seen as vermin (rabbits are sometimes seen as vermin too, but a farmer could eat a rabbit – they wouldn’t eat a rat). Deer are prey, but they have hooves and antlers that bring a danger to hunting them, for any animal – the difficulties of hunting rabbits are more related to their evasiveness, speed and good hearing than any life-threatening danger they might pose. Rabbits are, first and foremost, prey animals. They are killed and eaten, so that another animal might live.

Which made me think a lot about one of Orym’s other key traits: self-sacrifice. Bait and switch doesn’t just bump up his ally’s ACs, it specifically switches their place to put him directly in harm’s way. Goading attack is meant to encourage enemies to attack him instead of his friends. He literally made a deal with a hag, essentially exchanging his own life for power to protect his friends. How many times has he gone down in a fight? He’s not the only tank – but unlike Ashton (and Chetney, who also uses ‘self-sacrifice’ in his fighting style with his blood curses) he has no abilities to reduce the damage from the hits he takes (barbarian rage and the werewolf form).

(Side note: I think it’s pretty interesting that Chetney, the wolf, has attacked Orym, the rabbit, more than anyone else when losing control. That Orym’s facial scar was given to him by a friend, not a foe).

Of course, Orym isn’t the only character with self-sacrificial tendencies (FCG wins by a landslide), but I just can’t stop thinking about how weirdly perfect it is that he chose a rabbit for his animal. Rabbits are prey animals. They are eaten, so that other animals may live. Orym takes the hits, he goads and switches with his team mates to put himself in danger, he makes a deal with a hag at the cost of his own life. He’s a soldier, throwing his life away for a cause over and over again because Ludinus must be stopped, because Keyleth has put her trust in him, because it’s the only way to protect his friends, to protect everyone, because it’s the right thing to do. Orym is a rabbit. He’s always been a rabbit. That day in Zephrah, it could have easily been Orym who died instead of Will and Derrig – “unfortunate but necessary sacrifices”, as Ludinus viewed the attack. It’s unfortunate they had to die, but it was for the greater good, according to Ludinus. It’s unfortunate that a rabbit has to die, but it will feed a family of foxes, or stoats, or even a hungry human, so it’s acceptable, right?

Orym is a rabbit. He is giving himself to a greater cause that could very easily kill him – he already willingly signed his life away to Nana Morri. Because that’s what rabbits do. They die to feed others.

And the theme of being disposable is present across the entire group, not just in Orym – Bell’s Hells has been called a “party of NPCs” before. Aside from FCG’s death, I’d say Laudna perhaps fits this theme the best: she was literally murdered and hung from a tree simply because she looked similar to Vex, acting as a warning to adventurers she had never met before. But FCG’s death was – rightfully – viewed as a terrible tragedy by the group. Laudna’s decision to remove Delilah, finally freeing herself from her abuser and emphasising she is more, and deserves to be more, than just some disposable puppet – this was rightfully viewed as a very good thing! But Orym seems to be embracing this identity of self-sacrifice instead, rather than this mindset being properly challenged or acknowledged as a bad thing. After all, there’s no time. There’s too much at stake. Keyleth, Bell’s Hells, all the memories of those who have died in this fight, all the people who might die if Predathos is released and kickstarts a second Calamity – they’re all relying on him, right? A rabbit feeding so many animals with his sacrifice. And it’s not malicious compared to the way that, say, Delilah killing Laudna was an incredibly evil, fucked up and unnecessary thing to do. If Orym died to save everyone else, well, at least everyone else would be saved, right? Saving lives is good, isn't it? How could he complain?

Because rabbits are prey animals, and Orym is a rabbit too. Destined to die so that another animal may feed.

Except, that’s not true. Rabbits are more than just prey. They’re highly social, and thrive best living with others. They’re playful, they enjoy running around and kicking their legs just to show their enjoyment. They’re inquisitive and mischievous, even being associated with tricksters in some folklore and stories. They’re also associated with innocence, playfulness, spring, youth – all manner of things, depending on the story or culture. And they’re not helpless, either, even if they might be thought of as such. They can bite and scratch and draw blood quite easily if they want to! In fact, freezing up isn’t their only response when being attacked by a predator, they are known to fight back if cornered. They can sprint quickly, they have excellent hearing and senses of smell, they know how to evade predators.

Rabbits are prey, and they are also survivors. They have their own social dynamics, their own habits and dislikes and preferences. They are more than just a wolf’s meal. And Orym is more than a soldier, too. He’s more than a “necessary sacrifice”, he’s more than just a shield and sword. He deserves more than to die for a cause. He deserves a happy ending, just like everyone else. I hope he remembers that.

Orym is a rabbit. And the message isn’t that he shouldn’t be a rabbit. It’s that rabbits are worthy of surviving, too.

[britishassistant]

The Villainous Paranoiac Sues For Character Defamation (1.5)

“Nii-san?!”

The lump in Idia Shroud’s bed lets out a pitiful groan.

“Nii-san, are you alright?! Are you hungry?! Sick?!” Ortho demands. “Hold on, I’ll do a scan to see what’s wrong!”

A pale, long fingered hand emerges from beneath the covers. It points languidly.

“…sekai…”

“Eh?” The android crowds closer to the bed. “What is it Nii-san? Your computer? Did something bad happen in one of your games? To Precipice Morai? Did an anime get cancelled?”

“…Isekai…”

“Isekai?” The android asks, confused. “Nii-san, what—?”

“I CAN’T ACCEPT THAT A REAL LIFE ISEKAI WOULD COME FROM SUCH A LAME LIGHT NOVEL!!”

It’s with this impassioned cry that Idia Shroud throws off his duvet, hair flaring wildly.

“After all, there are so many worlds that would be so much more likely to be real?! A tech punk world like LoPri just violates several laws of physics, not to mention thaumaturgy?? Plus the characters are so bland and uninspiring, how is it meant to enrich the blackened hearts of this Wonderland if they’re real?! At least if they were from Hyrule or Laputa or Exandria, they could teach us valuable life lessons that would lead to world improvement!”

His fist hits the mattress. “But no! And on top of that, this happens at the same time as they’re leaking that a LoPri movie is in the works?! That’s so cheap!! It’s like an awful marketing tactic that takes your cherished childhood hopes and dreams and crushes them for a few wads of madol!! I can’t believe—”

“Nii-san, wait!” Ortho begs. “What do you mean, there’s been a real life isekai? The sensors you installed should have noticed a large amount of energy coming from something like a world-crossing event.”

Idia jabs an accusatory finger at his computer screen, where the illustration and photo are posed side by side. “Apparently, not if they hijack Night Raven’s carriages to get here!”

Ortho’s optic sensors dilate and contract as his facial recognition software runs.

“…It’s a match.” He says. “Barring the 4% deviations from differing mediums, this person looks almost exactly like the illustrations from Lost Princess. And the Dark Mirror reported they’re entirely magicless…”

Idia jumps when the facsimile of his younger brother appears in his space. “Nii-san, what should we do?! If she really is from this other world, she’s a criminal, isn’t she? Should STYX take her into preventative custody??”

“Eh—Calm down, Ortho.” The elder Shroud says sternly, as if he hadn’t been in near hysterics only a moment ago. “It’s illegal to lock people up if they haven’t done anything wrong yet.”

“But Nii-san—!”

“Besides, as a bad guy she’s like, seriously wimpy.” It takes a moment or two of flailing in the bedclothes before Idia’s phone is retrieved. “See? According to the wiki, even the worst stuff she does is thanks to abusing her rich family’s power and money. Without that, she’s as pathetic as some hero who’s had all his strength sucked out. Even more harmless than a level one slime.”

Ortho’s synthetic brow furrows. “I guess…”

“Heh. Some of those LoPri simps online might even say that this is divine retribution. Getting banished to a world where she’s worth less than nothing.” Idia slumps, flicking through his apps idly. “Ah, the fates are cruel. Why’d I have to be inflicted with this?”

“I will monitor the villainess, Nii-san.” Ortho announces. “If she attempts to partake in any criminal behavior, it will be reported to the authorities, so Nii-san’s daily school life may continue unimpeded.”

“Eh? Well, uh.” Idia’s attention fights with the gacha he’s just opened, but ultimately surrenders to the colorful world within. “Only if it’s a low priority thing, okay?”

“Roger!”

[skeine]

Love Deanna for giving a perspective on the double edged sword that religion can be for ordinary people in Exandria.

She's got this unwanted god in her life and can't do anything about it. The first gift he gave her of a resurrection turned out badly, she regrets it now, but she can't go back and she's just gonna have to make the best of it. And it's not all bad, his second gift of divine powers can be useful and helpful so she uses it and helps people, knowing that the price she pays him in return is spreading his name and inspiring his worship. And now she's finding out that the good name she's spreading is not so good after all, not to everyone. All those people she helped, was the price for that condoning the suffering of many more? Is the promise of her peaceful afterlife worth the cost others will pay for it in this lifetime?

No, the gods of Exandria are not omnipotent or omnibenevolent. They have their own agendas and priorities. There's a price for the help they give and Deanna is its poster child. Both as one who has paid it, and now as one unknowlingly complicit in making others pay as well.

She's the perfect example of someone where divinity and religion has heavily influenced her life for good and for bad, whether she wanted it or not, and for the first time is finally seeing the possibility of choice. Is losing the good worth living life free of the bad? Is the whole system too corrupt to be salvaged? Or is it possible, or worth it, to try to fix the bad?

It's a really interesting journey. I'm sorry we won't see more of it for a while, if ever.

[angelsndragons]

okay since folks really like my original cockroach party post i’m going to expand a bit and talk about how and why the mighty nein turned into a cockroach party.

but before we do that, i’m going to talk about mechanics on this post. warning: long post ahead.

first, let’s define terms. all adventuring parties find their own play style when it comes to combat. from my experience, these tend to fall into three broad categories that i am calling the glass cannon, the control, and the cockroach. to be clear, no one party style is better than another; the players and characters simply have different priorities and skill sets.  

glass cannon: these parties are built for doing damage. that’s basically it. they do damage and hope that they kill their enemies before their enemies kill them. these parties tend to be low on support casters, healers, or both. round 4 is where things start to get really rough for these parties and chances are good that if the fight has gone on this long, someone’s at least unconscious.

control: these parties tend to go around obstacles and enemies. there are a million ways to do this; for example, these parties can regularly avoid conflicts all together via stealth or charisma or some other check. when forced into combat, they excel when they have plans or traps to spring on opponents. they struggle a bit but ultimately triumph because they have a myriad of ways to not get hit or they are able to escape and lose their pursuers. 

cockroach: these parties don’t engage in combat, they endure it. their goal is to outlast their enemies via healing, support, and tanking. you hit them? joke’s on you, they don’t care. unlike their glass cannon counterparts, round 4 is where things turn around for the cockroach party. they’ve dug in and are starting to push back.

vox machina is a quintessential glass cannon party. part of that is simply down to player availability; ashley their cleric worked across the country so that made it tough for her to attend on the regular. but. the party technically still had a primary healer who could have stepped in and filled that role: keyleth. druids are pretty dang good healers and support casters, even moon druids. however. marisha and keyleth decided to instead take a dps and tank role similar to grog. this ain’t a diss either so don’t any of you all start anything, especially considering keyleth was often burning her higher slots just to get vm to different places. when keyleth was tanking in wild shape and focusing on dps, it meant that vox machina was reliant on: vex’s cure wounds (and with her being a half caster, you weren’t getting a lot of mileage of it), scanlan as the only support role, and later vax’s lay on hands for emergency healing. percy could heal himself a bit if things got really dicey, grog was taking half damage from most attacks, and the twins could hide as a bonus action or stay at range out of the way. in fact, most of vm had some method for staying at range and letting grog and keyleth tank. and this style worked for them for the most part. their biggest dangers were always the longer fights, with or without pike. longer fights meant more chances for these fragile kids to get hit and possibly drag out the fight even longer by trying to get someone up.

the ashholes from exandria unlimited is a great example of a control party. i count half of their encounters which they’ve been able to wriggle out of without killing their opponents. their liberal use of charm spells, high charisma, and just flat out out of the box thinking (they flipped a fucking crocodile!!) has saved their bacon so many times. during unavoidable combat, they have struggled a little bit, but they’re a low level party to begin with so struggle is expected. all the casters appear to be offensively geared with dariax and fearne having prepped utility on the side. even so, that control vibe still permeates the party; dorian’s most clutch move was that dissonant whispers on mister, which he cast not to harm mister but force him to move away from the rune that transformed and powered him, thus ending the combat.

and finally we have the mighty nein, the cockroach party. we’ll get into the hows and whys later, for now, cockroach parties are built on three major founding principles: action economy, mindset, and versatility. action economy is king in dnd. pcs get an action, bonus action, and reaction per turn. having turns each round is critical to a dnd party's ability to overcome the enemy and the more turns you have compared to your opponent, the better. for large parties, that is a sizable advantage over enemy monsters, which is why even low level monsters are packing multi-attacks, decent ac, and/or good solid hit points. more members means more attacks the creature(s) needs to take and focused fire adds up fast, even at low levels. for example, kylre had about 90 hp and was dead in three rounds, with fjord alone dealing 64 points of that damage. yeah. want to know why mid to high level monsters have legendary actions and resists? action economy. want to know why some silly min-max number crunchers think that cleric healing is severely under-powered? action economy. laura's assessment of healing, that it is better to damage the enemy and only heal to bring people up to make sure they get their turn, is a solid, reasonable assessment of the economy, especially when it comes to the cleric spell slot economy which I elaborated on here.

so, in light of the action economy, let's talk about the cockroach mindset. the cockroach party doesn’t ask ‘how do we beat this opponent’, it asks ‘how do we outlast this opponent.’ it’s a subtle difference in combat focus but an important one. survival of the party is the cockroach’s top priority and all members go into the encounter with that priority in mind. the players aren’t focused on the survival of their character, however, they are focused on giving their party another round to act. they give themselves room to breathe. whether that is stunning the enemy completely, whether it's lowering the enemy's attacking ability, whether it's giving a party member an extra action, whether it’s bringing someone up from unconsciousness, those methods combine with damage generation to win an encounter. cockroach parties don't rely on damage output to keep themselves safe, they rely on their own ability to survive and support their team. 

which brings us to versatility. cockroach parties tend to have a wide array of skills at their disposal and aren’t afraid to use them. while they have solid support roles, casters are not the only ones who can bring utility to a party. just ask beau. just ask yasha as she flew caleb out of danger in the first lucien fight. heck, just ask orym and his swip swap battle flop. or damian and the owlbear from the darrington brigade. cockroach parties, more than control and glass cannon parties, prefer to have a wide range of options available to them. the more tricks up your sleeve, the more likely you are to have something to deal with whatever the dm throws at you. marine layer, anyone? at the same time, the party also uses this wide array to have multiple ways to handle the same problem. jester is the backup stealth scout and teleporter. fjord is the emt, able to remove and heal injured party members if caduceus or jester cannot. caleb is the backup backup cleric with polymorph. veth can also stun/incapacitate enemies with her spells. caduceus is the backup backup tank and battlefield control via his shield of retribution and spirit guardians to beau and jester.

these three tricks combine into one inescapable reality: there is no one better or obvious target to take out. the entire party is one giant interlocking trap; break one and the others will reinforce the weak point and make you pay for the effort.

(incidentally, the cockroach approach is so ingrained in the cast that the vm side of the battle royale didn’t play with the urgency the vm playbook requires and that, more than anything, screwed them over. but that’s a different post.)

tune in next time for a break down of how, when, and why the nein went from glass cannon to cockroach because it is a fascinating ride.

[cadaceus]

EXU 6: “The Gift Among the Green”

Hello everyone and welcome to my liveblogs for this week’s episode of Exandria Unlimited: “The Gift Among the Green.” I absolutely loved the worldbuilding that Aabria gave us in this episode, and some of the character moments--especially with Opal--were truly so emotional. I am both so ready and not ready at all for these final two episodes! 

- This cozy Matt look is really working for me, personally (plus Omar’s outfit is so cute!)

- Fy’ra Rai calling Dorian “little brother” is gonna get me every time isn’t it  😭

- DARIAX AND HIS 0 PERCEPTION CHECK IS SO ON BRAND.... it’s okay baby boy.... we’ve all been there....

- Dorian getting the crown again via his friends skinny dipping into an ancient civilization... EXU once again being peak D&D

- A PUPPY??? Googol my beloved! (Oh and now Googol has the scary crown... this went downhill so quickly oh my lord)

- Ruidus has been mentioned... I just got flashbacks to that hour long Exandrian moon theories video on Youtube.... give me the moons lore Matt and Aabria!

- YES DORIAN LORE DORIAN LORE 

- Oooh, his real name is Bronte... I wonder what his last name is and why he refuses to say it? He must be some sort of nobility, right?  👀

- Orym admitting to checking out Dariax during the skinny dipping LMAOOO Liam’s characters will just always gravitate towards Matt’s magic men

- FEARNE’S PARENTS LEFT HER 50 YEARS AGO?? So she has spent almost half her life without them... oh my love 😭

- Dariax LIED to the group and about Tharla Starr too, he is so precious

- “I’ve never done anything without Ted” :((( Love them

- Dariax saying to the Observer “there’s been a lot of people in my head recently” reminds me of one of my favorite Yasha lines, “There’s been a lot of people in my head and I don’t want to give them you” and now I’m emo again

- “That’s called... branding” I mean, Dariax is not wrong LMAO Dorian has one of those names where you just want to say the first name and last name together

- HUH? Who/what did Opal see in the mirror? At first I thought maybe Ted, but Ted would look like Opal (ie: not blue eyes) right? Curiouser and curiouser....

- Oh, she saw her mother.... baby girl... Opal is making me sad today, Aimee has done such an incredible job with this character 😭

- FY’RA KAI IS ALIVE???

- Orym got a seed! I wonder what sort of seed! (Or maybe they said and I missed it...)

- That group Perception check was..... rough

- HUH??? Someone got Opal with a dart, but they are in the ancient city so did someone sneak into the city or is there someone after her that is a resident of this place?

- LIAM SAYING CALEB INSTEAD OF ORYM I MISS HIM ALREADY TOO  😭 😭

- A chase scene?! Let’s gooooo

- This derailing into a conversation about gender and sex in the animal kingdom is so valid of them dfgdhjkfl

- Wait, I didn’t know Word of Radiance was a 5e spell.... any Stormlight Archive fans here who know exactly what I was thinking of when I heard her say it...

- “Save Opal--and get my axe back!” Priorities on point :’)

- MEAT BEAST??? PUPPOS??? 

- Ashley’s two Natural 1s in a row...  😭

- Opal Misty Stepping on to the back of Dire Wolf!Fearne is so badass, I love that imagery so much... anytime someone uses that spell it ends up being so freaking cool

- Wait why was Opal kidnapped again? Or do we not know yet?

- Fy’ra Rai going “I tell you all these things with two slaps on the back!” made me laugh so hard tbh sfghdjkld that’s just how D&D works sometimes, I wasn’t even questioning it until she pointed it out!

- The way Ashley went “I apologize” in that long drawn out way was so funny dfgdhjk

- Huzzah for getting the Ring of Invisibility, that’s so cool! But also YIKES IT WAS THE PURPLE PEOPLE WHO WERE AFTER OPAL?? HOW COME??

- Dariax’s Opal impression going “Help me Ted!~” before spellcasting truly made me laugh out loud quite literally fsghjkdl (timestamping it at about 4:22:28 on the VOD, 4:07:28 on YT)

- Poor Opal is in shock isn’t she :(((

- NOOOOOO I DON’T WANT ANJALI TO GOOOO I was lowkey hoping that she would stay with the group for the rest of the time, she feels like such a key part of them now!

- “Don’t worry... I would do anything for my friends.” This is still giving me Dorian Corruption Arc vibes and I am not mad about it... what if he makes the same bad turns/choices as he did previously (that Fy’ra Rai is referencing) but this time it’s not because he thinks he’s better off alone, it’s because he does it for the sake of his found family? This is not a theory just an angst dump but woof I love how much potential this storyline has

- I like “the Chosen Ones” as a name so much! Maybe not as much as “the Natural Ones” as I saw suggested in the chat, but hey it’s still a keeper ;)

- Ooh, so is this Ted’s body that someone found? Or is it more of a metaphysical imagery of Ted, ie inside of Opal’s mind? I am so intrigued at what’s to come in these last two episodes!

- See You Next Thursday friends! ;)

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Man puh-LEASE talk about all the possible angst and development this can cause with Jester and Fjord, I’m living for all the meta this week.

The wonderful thing is that there are so many different ways this can turn out. SO MANY. (Dude I left this completed in my drafts for such a long time I am so sorry lol)

Avantika & co. kill Fjord and leave his body behind, but take the orb. I think this is the least likely, but talk about an insult, right? They don’t need Fjord anymore, because the orb is out of him. Where... it might have been safer, actually. So they would just be killing him to be dicks at this point. All they need is the orb, from what I can tell. Unless undead can’t activate the temple.

Avantika & co. kill Fjord and take his body and the orb. I think this is moderately more likely than the first one. Mostly because I think Uk’otoa would want to make him into some kind of similar undead minion as a punishment. If he can. Which I think Fjord would cooperate for if he thought he was keeping his friends safe. But you know his friends wouldn’t cooperate with it, which is the saddest part. They’d go to the ends of Exandria trying to get him back.

Speaking of which. Maybe Fjord just agrees to go with Avantika back to wherever their lair is to try to save his friends from this mess. I think this would only happen if the battle was taking a turn for the worse. 

But I’m feeling like I’m in a Fjorester mood right now, so I mostly want to talk about that part of this. 

We know Jester was super jealous of Avantika during the pirate arc. Fjord didn’t know until Beau pointed it out. And you know, Jester knows (now) how much Fjord didn’t like what he was doing at the time. I’m putting on my clown makeup and I’m fully expecting Jester to be fiercely protective during this fight. There are lots of reasons for that. Mainly, Fjord died. Very recently. Under almost exactly the same circumstances. I think Beau will go for the orb, because she’s the fastest (wait, was she grappled? maybe it’ll be Veth) and Jester is going to go for Fjord. (Listen it’s all the Nein, but) Neither of them are going to let Fjord get taken. They’re not going to let him get killed again. It’s not something either of them are going to allow. 

But yeah. Let’s focus on Jester. She heard Beau scream out for Fjord and immediately wanted to drop concentration on her spell, because that would have been enough to shake her concentration. Then, Fjord died right in front of her eyes. And that was before Travelercon. Before he was constantly checking in on her. Before “I don’t care about 200 people, I care about you.” Before “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Before he threw himself into the air over a volcano to beg for her to stay with them. Before they danced together and he gave her a tiny unicorn figurine just because.

Jester’s already been trying to figure out what her feelings for Fjord really are. If she has feelings for him beyond friendship. Trying to decide what it means. And now, here’s someone she thought might take Fjord away from her in the past. And she’s trying to take Fjord away again. Jester, more than anyone, knows how much Fjord doesn’t want that. She knows why he gave up his powers. She’s promised him that she would do anything to help get him away from Uk’otoa. This is the second time since that promise that Uk’otoa has sent people after him and/or the orb. Whether or not she understands how complicated his feelings are for her as well, these two have always made each other a priority. They have always promised to look out for each other. Since the very beginning. I don’t see this fight ending and Jester not insisting that they figure out how to stop this as soon as the Eiselcross arc is over.

I’m not sure how many old feelings of jealousy this is going to stir up in Jester. I don’t even think she’ll be worried that he’s going to be tempted to give in and go back. I think she has absolute faith in him. But if we’re focusing on angst. That’s a possibility. Jester being scared that Fjord is going to see Avantika, that Uk’otoa brought Avantika back from death, and be reminded of the allure of that power. So, she could lose Fjord in so many ways.

Now, another thing that I think is interesting is the possibility that Uk’otoa picked up on Fjord’s feelings for Jester before they removed the orb. The orb was removed in episode 99 and he’s established that his feelings for Jester have been there for a while. I’m not sure how much Uk’otoa’s awareness stretched, but it doesn’t seem too farfetched to me that he would be aware of Fjord’s loyalties and affections. In that vein, Avantika might decide to threaten the Nein, Jester specifically, to get Fjord to listen. And this is a guy who THREW HIMSELF INTO THE AIR OVER A VOLCANO just to beg her not to leave him. Threatening her would absolutely be a way to get him to cooperate. Going after her in this fight would be an effective punishment. I mean, this could actually be extended to any of the Nein. They’re his family. He loves all of them. If any of them die in this fight, Fjord is not going to deal with that well.

One last thing re: Fjorester development as an outcome of this fight.

Let’s say the fight ends, they manage to save the orb, kill Avantika, everyone is intact at the end of it. Fjord’s still going to blame himself anyway and if I had to guess who is going to check in with him one-on-one after, I would probably put money on it being Jester. He might apologize for putting them in danger once again. They’ll decide that this has to be handled. Jester will probably reassure him that they’re just happy that he’s safe. AND. I bet she asks how he felt about seeing Avantika again. If he’s okay with them having to kill her again. This would be where I’d expect any lingering feelings of jealousy to pop up. And it would give Fjord the opportunity to tell Jester that Avantika was a means to an end. And if Jester brings up feelings, it gives him the opportunity to... you know... talk about who he actually has feelings for.

Realistically, I’d see it going almost the same way as his conversation with Beau and I’d expect him to sidestep an actual confession. Maybe saying something like... he’s realized that he has feelings for someone that he never thought possible, but that he feels like he’s still changing so much and they’re all changing so much that he doesn’t know if it’s the right time to act on those feelings. Or maybe he’d take the chance to open up about how he’s never really been in love before and it scares him.

I DON’T KNOW. This is barely scratching the surface of possibilities and it’s very contingent on this fight going smoothly. FINGERS FUCKING CROSSED OKAY. There’s almost too many possibilities for angst at this point. My brain can’t even keep up with all the new ideas I’m having.

[dunamanticarchivist]

Critical Role Latest of the Lateblogs C2E31 Commerce and Chaos

Well I think this is the longest I’ve held off watching CR 2 since binge-ing the first 13 episodes in a marathon procrastination for roughly 3 days. Which might be a good thing, that I’m giving sufficient priority to things around me. But not being able to browse twitter and tumblr cos spoilers has been rather killer. Now, for a relaxing shopping episode of... critical role. Also that title is amazing

Only 3 and half hours boo hoo

Or did they take out the break in replays?

Oh boi a Sam Riegel southern special

A true blue ‘murican musical masterpiece

ENCORE ENCORE

Oh thank god I thought they took out the audio for the cheesy intro

That wouldn’t be the same any more would it

RIP Sam Riegel, but RIP Matt Mercer first

Dafuq Nott is now inventing flechette rounds in fantasy settings

Holy shit thats gonna be dangerous - one potentially explosive arrow

Im surprised Travis isnt asleep yet

Okokokokokok there are shenanigans afoot with letter forgery

(Ok i got spoiled a bit for this bit, but still)

Liam’s face palm is mood

FROM THE TOWN OF NIGERIA

Jesus there will be a million repercussions spilling out of this and plot ends for Matt to refine into knives to murderinate them with

Oh no this will not end well. At all. RIP erbady’s heart

Diamonds, fucking diamonds 

Ah there is Travis’ eyeroll. RIP him

LETS GO TO PUMAT’S (i saw a pumatprime logo that looks like amazon prime it was awesome sry i forgot who to credit it to on twitter)

Dese kids MOAR PUMATS 

Bath time again?

GIMME THEM BRACERS 

Thats really helpful Jester you should never bargain

A mighty girth....hmm not the group name you are looking for

Interesting spell selections. Feather fall, expeditious retreat, catapult. All 1st levels and uses reaction, bonus action and action. Very versatile

“This longsword”. Travis instantly becomes interested in shopping again. BAD FJORD BAD PUT DOWN THAT LONGSWORD. NO DONT EAT IT AGAIN BAD

The sword that was broken, potential plot point

Dust of deliciousness wtf that sounds absolutely baller

Cleaning out the pumats

ALL THE FUNKY ENCHANTMENTS someone please make the thinking meme for pumat 

The dancing sounds like a Otto’s Irresistable Dance a lvl 6 spell enchantment.

8000 gold for that. Interesting.

As an economics student, I am incredibly fascinated by the price systems that exist in Exandria (so 400 gold for +1 weapon)

Lotta pigeons hooting in here

Tfw when your hobo wiz is charming af

Only 100 gold off, its something but thats less than 5% off the bill (total should come up to 2400 golds ish)

Paper and ink in the same box, I too like to live dangerously

Marisha’s grabby hands for the bracers *squeeee

Matt, you have no idea how heavy paper can get

“May I go to the library” jesus that brings me back to childhood I loved my school library

MOAR SHOPPING RIP TRAVIS ROUND 2

We now have an official cook and potion maker on the road, its gonna be lit

Suvo’s Secrets ooo what a name. 20 ft by 20 ft. The first thing that comes to mind is how a Fireball would put the place to flame. I need help

Holy fuck thats a big dragonborn

Im calling it thats a hoarding hag of a dragonborn

FROM YOUR MOTHERS CHEST really Matt you forget the Ruby of the Sea was a prostitute for one second. Just one second. Meme mode ON

1 gold for fucking garlic they have no fucking sense for money 

They should have just brought Nott along and stole the whole bag

Jester please once again, never negotiate for prices.

Also if Matt was in the mind to fuck with them, they could literally be paying for the privilege of being cursed

Fjord bailing, shopping must have been super depressing

SABIEN??? SABIEN???? GIVE ME PLOT GIVE ME BACKSTORY

Bummer to have a week of failed investigation

ONLY CAT FRUMPKIN

Zenoth still being creepy af

Jebaited monk training Day 1: Time to fucking read

Roleplaying lvl 6 subclass features pretty good

Lotta bows there

Correction Laura: everyone be a Cobalt Soul monk

“I dont get to kill those guys?” aww man

Info dump lads this is a wiki filling episode erbady take notes

The Chained Oblivion? With all the manacles I think that’s shaping up to be BBEG of this campaign

STILL NOT A GOOD ENOUGH REASON TO USE THE WORD PENETRATE

Magical experimental in Solstryce? This is not a particularly helpful turn of events

I wonder does the eye serve as a spellcasting focus

THEY SPLIT THE PARTY DOWNTIME MOST DANGEROUS TIME

Lots of charming ASMR voices with the Gentlemen and Fjord

oh shite its cree another WHERE’S MOLLY???

Ya he ded

Eyyy here we go (i got somewhat spoiled for this defacing of temples)

The ‘healers’ got a cloak for Nott the bravest rouge. Yes. But this is entirely wholesome and soul saving

Clearly the cast isnt all the religious or that serious about it

The platinum dragon is now.... a farmer. Very agricultural

-3 to deception at disadvantage. Still a 13. Absolutely golden

This is heresy and we are all going to hell

I HAD JUST HIRED HER goddamn they are horrendous at this skulduggery 

OH SHIIIIT 5 CROWNSGUARDS one of whom appears to be a spellcaster

fuck some kind of forcecage? Ottiluke’s Resilient Sphere does damage?

ALL SHALL FALL TO THE CHARM OF JESTER LAVORRE

RUN YOU IDIOTS RUN

Jesus christ I didnt know I could get anxiety from watching a getaway scene

Good lord Jester virtually blew through her entire long rest of options in one night of revelry

Oh god here cometh the heartbreak

Thats alot of vague speak in the manner of gods

Dafuq the god is real? He can touch the dodecahedron? This sounds like a great amount of fuckery

Holy shit the time indeed passed I forgot there needs to be a break

NO REST WE GO ON LIKE CRITTERS

Taliesin is playing his INT 9 well

Lets go vacationing in the Bahamas/Nicodranas/Menagerie Coast

PLEASE CAST PLEASE LESS PEE AND POOP JOKES IM TRYING TO SNACK

Yes that is exactly how Jester would cast sending someone once wrote fanfic like that. It is obviously now canon

REVENGE FOR NOTT THE BRAVE KILL ALL THE GOBOS

Paper = power

ITS MORE THAN THAT AAAAAA ITS SO WHOLESOME

Everybody gets a dead people tea healing potion

Aaaand we’re back to the beginning

A delicious transitory episode, and hmmm a one-shot 2 weeks from now? Fascinating. 

[tiamat-zx]

Charred (Revisited)

I updated my most recent fic to include references to Episode 83, so if you want to leave kudos and comments, click the link to the story on ao3 here.

Otherwise, you could do so here as well.

To refresh people’s memory, this is a re-enactment and expansion of the final scene from Episode 81. There are spoilers, so read at your own risk.

And yes, I reposted this because readers sometimes are unaware of updates to stories unless they check them often.

Once again, I wanted to thank the likes of @onceandfuturekiki, @rovingromy, @ordainedcrown, @duskmeadows, @dancer4813, @a-heart-of-kyber, and many others for being awesome inspiration, awesome writers, awesome friends, and just plain awesome.

It was a horribly exhausting day, a day spent within the sulfurous and volcanic city that used to be Emon.  A day spent fighting for survival against the Cinder King and the dangers that loomed within the Cloudtop District. But even though Thordak had fallen, there was still an even greater danger on the horizon.

In her room in Castle Whitestone, standing in front of the mirror of the vanity table in her nightgown, Keyleth holds the Spire of Conflux in her hands and stares at her circlet on the table, lamenting over the day’s events. The Cinder King had proven to be an even more terrifying and dangerous opponent than they thought, but at the very least they had two months to prepare for this endeavor, which included gathering allies and the Vestiges of the Divergence. After a long, harrowing two months—and many, many near-misses along the way—their preparations were complete... or so they thought.

They did not win the battle by their combined might alone because while they had the assistance of Zahra, Kashaw, Kima, Gilmore, and Jarett, there was another individual that they had forged an alliance with. And that individual was the one who released Thordak from the Plane of Fire in the first place which caused the destruction of Pyrah and most of the Fire Ashari to be exterminated. The one who attacked them first in Emon and forced them to flee because her might was too great. The one who used Whitestone and Vox Machina’s beleaguered state as leverage to ensure their allegiance in destroying Thordak. The one who ultimately turned on them all once the battle was won and Vax chose to attack her, to try to stop her from achieving her own goals.

The one who called herself the Diseased Deceiver, Raishan.

Keyleth’s eyes begin to water as she thinks back to that horrible confrontation. They were wounded and spent, most of their strength expended on Thordak. And yet, even though she told Vax to wait for her before attacking, Vax had interpreted her words differently from what their intent was and chose to strike first. And then when she flew even further into the tunnel and Keyleth and the twins chose to pursue, that was when everything began to go wrong starting with the impact of those meteors.

They clearly underestimated Raishan’s power as she used her magic to disappear and systematically remove the protection of the Heroes’ Feast that would’ve shielded them from her poisonous breath. And even after the rest of the group—sans Kash and Zahra who stayed behind to stop the fire giants from interfering—managed to catch up and Devo’ssa was finally summoned by Scanlan, she had then proceeded to lay waste to them all, unleashing spell after powerful spell on them. They struggled to keep each other alive, but despite their best efforts Raishan had slain both Vex and Scanlan temporarily before Pike managed to revive them. She nearly killed Vax as well and would have if Keyleth hadn’t managed to save him from the burning lava. And when Raishan attempted to flee while clutching two dragon eggs, Keyleth tried to follow to give chase and aid the party best she could... only to have the ground break beneath her and have her plummet into a river of lava below her.

Keyleth could still feel the horrible pain that she endured from that fluke of a circumstance. She had managed to crawl out of the river but not without suffering some severe damage that was fortunately lessened by the fire resistance potion she drank earlier. And to make matters worse, they were repelled by an invisible wall. And by the time they figured out how to make the wall vanish, Raishan and Thordak’s corpse were already gone. The Diseased Deceiver had escaped with her prizes in tow. Keyleth had stood there in silence upon witnessing the absence of both, her vengeance having been ripped from her fingers when she was so close to achieving it. Burned and spent, she tried so hard to remain strong and not break down, to try to focus on their next course of action. It was only when Vax and Kerr—the blacksmith who acted as a mentor to her in Westruun—tried to comfort her did she allow herself to cry from the pain and exhaustion.

Keyleth stands there in front of the vanity table mirror, still clutching onto the staff as she stares at her reflection and the state she was in. Parts of her body were still burned by her sudden lava bath, though most of the burns were fortunately healed by Vax and Kerr’s healing magic. Her beautiful red hair, once long, was scorched and mostly gone, the blackened ends reaching down to her shoulders. Keyleth sighs, knowing that this was karma at work, punishing her for her own hubris. At the very least, she was still alive for the moment before they would all head out to fight Raishan once more the next day. She sighs again, tired and exhausted from the events of the day, all of her remaining willpower spent towards standing tall and not collapsing, to remain focused on the task at hand.

She and her allies were presented with a very difficult choice: to either pursue Raishan straight away while both sides were depleted but with a higher risk of someone dying permanently, or pursue her after resting in the hopes that they manage to catch her before she fully recovers. Keyleth herself had to make the call, and as far as she was concerned, she made the right choice; nearly dying in Thordak’s lair made her more cautious and wary of what was to come, especially after witnessing Raishan’s magical prowess even though she was diseased. She underestimated her once before, but not again.

But did I truly make the right call?

She continues to stand in front of the mirror, lost in her own thoughts. She had been desperately trying to hold back her rage towards the Diseased Deceiver for weeks now, knowing that Grog was right about there being a proper time for her to let loose her fury. But then, in the back of her mind, a thought occurs to her.

Is this how Percy felt when it came to the Briarwoods? Is this what he felt when he wanted vengeance so badly? When he came so close to becoming like the very monsters he vowed to destroy?

Am... Am I that close to feeling that same sensation?

Keyleth’s eyes widen as she looks at herself in the mirror once more. Thinking back, she was acting no different from the gunslinger when she wanted to lash out at Raishan and wanted to kill her right then and there. But then Percy calmed her down, telling her that she had fared better compared to him. Deep down, she knew that he was wrong; her rage was far greater than his back then. She wanted that dragon bitch dead, no matter the cost. And it is only now, in this moment alone in her room, that she begins to understand the feelings her best friend felt.

Another thought occurs to her. While it was true that she desired revenge, she realizes that that desire was rather selfish of her. After all, she wasn’t the only one who suffered from Raishan’s actions. There were many other countless pockets of civilization that suffered as well, not just the people of Emon and the Fire Ashari. Countless others died because of the dragon’s machinations.

Keyleth, still clutching the staff, comes to an understanding that it is not revenge that matters, but rather that Raishan needs to answer for her crimes. It is not revenge, but justice that she yearns for.

For the first time since she learned about Raishan’s involvement in this whole ordeal, she understands.

If I kill Raishan out of need for vengeance, I’m no better than her. No, she needs to be brought to justice. She’s a very real danger to the rest of Exandria. And if we can’t stop her, who will?

A soft knock sounds out from her door, distracting her from her inner thoughts.

“Come in,” she calls out. The door soon opens, and in the mirror she sees Vax walking in, out of his armor and looking equally exhausted.

“Hi,” is all Vax says as he approaches her.

“Hi,” she replies, not even needing to look back due to his reflection.

Keyleth soon notices that Vax was clutching a bottle in his hand which he soon places on the table. He then pulls out of his pocket the familiar shape of a certain dagger: Whisper. As soon as the blade comes into view she shudders briefly, thinking back to when that weapon was plunged into her back by Kynan at Glintshore. That small, legendary dagger had nearly stolen her life, but now it is in the hands of the man she loved with all her heart. Knowing that makes her relax a little more.

Vax’s other hand soon caresses the remnants of her charred locks as he says softly, “Have a seat.”

“Okay,” she replies just as softly. She does as she is told and sits down on the chair next to her, placing the staff aside. She continues to stare at herself in the mirror as Vax holds both Whisper and the ends of her hair in his hands. And then, to her surprise, he starts to grab hold of the edges and uses the Vestige to slowly cut the charred and burnt edges away. Keyleth sees Vax’s pained expression as he works, the thought of having to cut her hair that was beautiful to him no doubt hurting him.

“Do you like it shorter?” she asks as he continues his work. In all honesty, she never felt so self-conscious about her hair before. Fashion was never really a priority for her in the past. The only time she thought about it was the time where she went shopping for clothes with Vax so they could infiltrate the Velvet Cabaret in Vasselheim.

The memory brings a smile to her face, as does the moment when Vax had “proposed” to her. It was so silly at the time, yet it felt... right. She knew it was merely a ruse, but still, it made her feel happy that Vax wanted to do it. And she had accepted without much difficulty.

Vax thinks for a moment, considering how to answer her question, and then replies, “I like you.”

Keyleth smiles again at his thoughtfulness. But then her smile fades as she notices his furrowed brow, a constant for Vax that she had noticed having traveled with him for this long now. It was something that he usually did when he had a lot on his mind or wanted to keep his thoughts to himself.

“You know, I see you doubting yourself,” Vax tells her as he keeps cutting, his tone soft and soothing. “I see it, Kiki. But I’ve no doubts in you. I’ve known you for a long time now. And I have seen the strength in you growing. And I’m a fan. You’re going to make a great leader someday.”

Keyleth could feel herself shrinking ever so slightly into herself. It was always flattering and so sweet of Vax to think that highly of her. But at the same time, she feels as if she still isn’t worthy enough to be a leader just yet, not after her desire to want to kill Raishan ended up costing so many people their lives, including Vex and Scanlan. And despite Vax’s and Kerr’s words to her, she still feels so much guilt.

“I just feel like there’s so many people I can easily disappoint, and I don’t want to,” she admits quietly and reluctantly.

She was going to be the leader of her tribe once her Aramente was complete. All she had left to do was to go to the Water Ashari and complete her training. And after that, she wasn’t sure what would happen. She would probably have to part ways with Vox Machina, a thought that often frightened her. They were her family for the better part of two years now, and despite the arguments and infighting they occasionally got into, they were still tied to the hip. But thinking of the possibility that she would eventually have to leave them all to return to Zephra to continue where her father left off always made Keyleth feel very unsure of herself.

I’m not ready to go back, I can feel it. I don’t want to leave any of them. And yet, I will have to eventually once there’s no reason for any of us to stick together.

Vax pauses for a moment, still gripping her burnt hair, and soon says back to her as he continues cutting, “You’re doing the very best you can with what you’ve been given. And I have seen you rise again and again and not stop and not back down. And you fucking blow me away with the things you can do out there. You are beautiful, you are talented, and you are strong as fuck.”

Keyleth smiles a little, feeling the conviction behind Vax’s words, the meaning behind them. He has faith in her. They all have faith in her, a young woman who is easily prone to making rash decisions and having occasionally poor judgment. A woman who is led by what her heart tells her and not her mind. And yet... they all have faith in her. It made her want to cry.

“And I can’t take the doubt away. I can’t do that,” Vax continues to say. “But mix in with that my faith in you. Percy’s faith in you. Grog’s faith in you. Kerr’s. Vex’ahlia’s. Scanlan’s. Allura’s. All of ours. We are all behind you and we all believe in you. And we all love you. And obviously I love you.”

It was then that Keyleth remembers a circumstance similar to this moment, the time when she talked about her distrust of Kima while they were in the Underdark and Vax spoke up, telling her that she was not alone. That she had a family with her. She remembers how understanding he was, and how supportive he was even long before he confessed his love to her.

And the moments they shared ever since he confessed, both large and small, were treasured moments in her heart. She remembers how it felt for her to love him and yet not have the courage to say it, to have her fear of losing him control her. It was not until after Tiberius had died that she had found that courage. And now she isn’t afraid to explore that love with him anymore.

“And I love you,” she replies. She then went on to say, “You know, um, everyone comes from these backgrounds, having all these well-ventured and traveled pasts. You were the first people that I knew and met.”

She smiles a little sheepishly. “So not only are you the longest, I don’t really have any other friends. You are my family. I’ll try not to let you down.”

Vax smiles at her in the mirror as he puts away Whisper and moves around the chair to kneel down in front of her, running a hand through her hair. She could see in her reflection that all of the burnt edges were now cut away, leaving the rest of what remained clean.

“I’ve no worries. Look at you,” Vax tells her, still running a hand through her hair. “Don’t you look like royalty?”

“I’m not a princess, remember?” Keyleth reminds him with a smirk on her face. She never really liked being called a “princess” as she didn’t think of herself as one. Still, that didn’t stop the others from treating her like one, especially Tiberius when he was still with the group.

“That’s kinda what I like about you,” Vax replies, which draws out a slight chuckle from Keyleth. He was always so sweet, and she feels so happy that out of all the people she met in her life, Vax was the one she fell in love with. The two of them, despite their vastly different backgrounds, were clearly alike in so many ways. In fact, perhaps too much alike. But still, it allowed them to relate to each other so well. She laments on how they could’ve had a lot more time to be happy if not for the dragons, the Raven Queen, and all the unfortunate events that transpired in-between. Despite those events, however, it allowed them to grow into the people they are now.

I might as well be honest with myself and admit that I would never take any of it back.

“Would you do me a favor?” Vax soon asks her. “Down the line, once all this is behind us... will you go back to the theater with me?”

His sudden and rather non-sequitur request catches Keyleth off-guard for a moment as she stares at him, utterly confused as to why he’d say that now of all times. “What is it with you and the theater? Why?”

Vax shrugs. “I don’t understand it, either.”

Keyleth scoffs a little as she brings her hand up to match his hand that is still caressing her hair, staring at him with longing eyes. “Just as long as you go back to Zephra with me. Maybe?”

Vax replies with a smile, “You don’t have to ask.”

Keyleth smiles back, happy at his decision to go back with her when they had the chance. Ever since she first showed him the village from a distance, and ever since their reunion with her father, she had wanted to show him everything. But now that promise was set, assuming they survived the coming battle first.

“Does my hair look okay?” Keyleth then asks Vax, still feeling self-conscious about it.

“You kidding me?” Vax asks with an incredulous look on his face, puzzled at her statement.

“The short thing kinda works? It works with my bone structure? The antlers aren’t overpowering it, right? The length kinda balanced out this, you know? Maybe bangs? Actually, no. No bangs.”

Keyleth continues to babble nervously about her uncertainty regarding her new look as Vax abruptly kisses her, silencing the thoughts in her head. She knows that she always had a tendency to talk too much, and a part of her is thankful that Vax found a rather direct way to calm her down.

Gods, I love him so much. I honest can’t believe it took me so long to realize it.

She eases into the kiss, eagerly matching the level of affection he gave. This feeling of intimacy between them always makes her feel at peace, that she feels safe with him around. Even their first kiss together months ago during their raid on the castle, unexpected as it was, somehow felt right. It was a feeling that overwhelmed her briefly as she found herself lost in the moment until Percy had interrupted it.

To be fair, he was a little angry at Vax for endangering Cassandra’s life. Any brother would react in such a manner. I know Vax does when it comes to Vex.

After a while, Vax breaks the kiss. “Kiki... I stand by what I said. We’re all behind you. We always will be.”

Keyleth nods. “I know. In fact, I’ve come to a realization.”

“What is it?”

She fidgets a little as she finds the words to say, and then replies, “I may have been going about this whole thing with Raishan the wrong way. I’ve realized that revenge is rather selfish, especially since I’m not the only one who suffered due to her actions.”

Vax nods understandably. “You’re right. That’s actually how I felt about Thordak recently. Still, a part of me feels pride for being the one to ultimately destroy him.”

“But pride can lead to ruin,” Keyleth replies. “We’ve seen it happen many times.”

“That being said,” Vax tells her, “I am glad you’re coming to that realization. It’s a sign that you’ve changed.”

She nods. “I have, haven’t I?”

“You have. I mean, look at the person you were years ago to who you are now. You’re much more understanding of the world around you, you’re not afraid of having to make the tough choices, and you’re no longer afraid of the path you’ve chosen to walk.”

Vax soon embraces her. “I’m proud of you, Keyleth.”

Keyleth looks at herself in the mirror and smiles.

He’s right. I have changed.

She returns the embrace. “Thank you, Vax’ildan. Thank you... for staying by my side. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done with my life if I never met you or the rest of Vox Machina. I probably would’ve become such a self-righteous bitch.”

Vax chuckles. “Probably. I mean, you still tend to be sometimes. But at least you’re aware of it.”

She breaks the embrace and stares at him with a pouty look on her face. “Hey! That’s mean!”

“I’m just being honest,” he replies.

Keyleth rolls her eyes. She then finds herself yawning, overcome with weariness as the exhaustion of the day begins to finally catch up with her.

“Tired?” Vax asks.

“Yeah,” she mutters sleepily. “It’s been a very long day. I don’t think I can do much more before collapsing.”

“Come on, then. To bed you go,” he tells her as she feels herself being picked up by Vax and carried to her bed. She can barely keep her eyes open as Vax tucks her in and kneels down next to her, the look in his eyes so full of adoration for her that it made her smile.

“Rest well, love. We have a big day ahead of us,” Vax says with the gentlest of tones, running a hand through her hair. “And hopefully we’ll all make it out of this coming battle alive.”

“I hope so, too,” Keyleth replies as she finds herself drifting further and further into sleep. She then manages to pull Vax’s head close to her as she gives him one last kiss. “I love you, Vax.”

“I love you, too.”

Keyleth continues to smile as she finally surrenders to the exhaustion of the day, her eyes closing. And for the first time in a long while, her dreams are peaceful. She has no doubt that once he falls asleep as well, Vax would be dreaming the same dreams. Dreams of the two of them living a peaceful life free of dragons and death. Dreams of a future where they even raised a family together.

They were dreams worth making come true.

As Keyleth begins to sleep, Vax lets out a deep sigh that he had been holding for a long while. She looks so peaceful in her sleep, a gentle contrast to how she was several hours ago back in Emon. The look of defeat on her face when Raishan had escaped had broken his heart. In fact, it was just as heartbreaking as when he found himself awake and he found her sprawled on the ground with most of her hair burnt off, barely conscious, and her entire body scorched and burned. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she fell into the lava and barely crawled out.

The entire confrontation was horrible. He knew that he did the right thing, that he had to try to stop Raishan. And yet, it was a personal failing on his part when his efforts were all for naught. In fact, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how horrible it was for everyone as he was unconscious for most of it. What he did see, however, was Scanlan lying there frozen solid. The sight of his dear friend dead inside the ice was more than he could bear, and he silently thanked the gods for Pike still being with them as she revived him.

Vax thinks back to the confrontation between Scanlan and himself, when the gnome started to blame him for everything going wrong. Vax had felt that he did what he had to do, that they all did so. But the look of hurt and hostility on Scanlan’s face wounded him deeply. He had pulled him aside and tried to explain things, even showing Scanlan the letter he had written in case he died. The bard’s words to him weeks ago, that everything was better compared to the beginning, were hard to believe in the early days of the Conclave’s occupation of several cities in Tal’Dorei. But over time, Vax started to believe in them. After all, he was not alone anymore. It wasn’t like the times he had shared with Vex’ahlia before they all became the S.H.I.Ts. He felt like he belonged with this ragtag group of misfits. He considered them all family.

Scanlan was right. Things were indeed better despite the tragedies that unfolded every day. And even more so once their dynamic began to change. For instance, after having gotten to know the group for a year, while he felt an attraction to Shaun and they seemed to hit it off right away, he never even considered the possibility that he would fall in love with someone else. And he never expected it to be with Keyleth, of all people. But over time, he developed a genuine emotional bond with her, something that he had only shared before with his twin. And then, that bond soon grew into something more, eventually culminating with him falling for her.

Despite his willingness to charge headlong into danger, a quality that the Raven Queen seemed to appreciate when she spoke with him in her temple, he was very patient when it came to Keyleth. He bided his time, never pushing, never forcing himself on her. When he came close to death against the Briarwoods, he had thought of her being beautiful and walking under the trees. He was so convinced that he was going to die at that moment and would have if not for Scanlan and Keyleth managing to give him the strength to get up and run to them. And when he was brought back from the brink of death during the siege of Castle Whitestone, he had the urge to admit his feelings for her, and in his muddled and dazed state did so and emphasized it with their first kiss. But realizing that he may have been a little too hasty, he decided to give her space and wait for her, to let her choose for herself.

And despite so much happening in the months since, despite almost losing Vex and his faith becoming inverted and now serving a goddess of death as opposed to a goddess of life, things truly began turning around for him, especially when Keyleth had summoned the courage to confess. He had started to believe that just being around her would ultimately be enough for him. But her coming forward with her feelings made him feel so happy. The last time Vax felt such happiness was when he spent the first ten years of his life with his sister and their mother. The last time he had allowed himself to be happy before the fates chose to make him their personal plaything, starting with Syldor taking them and Thordak killing his mother.

He sighs again, and stares at the charred edges of hair scattered on the floor. Her hair that he himself had cut. It had hurt for him to do such a thing, but he wanted what was best for his beloved. He then looks back at Keyleth’s sleeping face, and then to the hair on her head that remains. Even with her hair being shorter now, she was beautiful, every bit like a princess even though she always said she wasn’t. But she was indeed royalty in his eyes.

A princess like her honestly doesn’t deserve someone like me. But still, the fact that she chose me over others means a lot. She deserves to live to see everything come to fruition. Her desire to avenge her people and bring Raishan to justice, her Aramente, her wanting a future with me. All of it.

He stands up and walks to the charred strands of hair on the floor, taking the time to pick them all up. He holds them in his hands and, after some deliberation, chooses to weave them together. He had plenty of practice when it came to braiding Vex’s hair on a constant basis, so this was no difficult task. Within minutes, he comes up with a thin but sturdy chain of her blackened but still beautiful hair that he soon ties to his belt, a trinket to remember her by along with the mark of her hand on his back, still there after all this time. He knew that if he were to ever be apart from her, he'd only have to think back to when he asked her to do that. It was proof that no matter the distance, they would be inseparable.

Feeling satisfied, he removes his shirt and boots and soon goes under the covers on the other side of Keyleth’s bed, wisely choosing to give her space so that he doesn’t wake her. As he lays there, he mulls over what was to come. Their rematch with Raishan would happen the next day, and they all needed to be at their best so they could finish her off. They had to finish things, or else something far worse could occur.

She will pay for what she did, love. That’s a promise to you, to your people, and a promise to myself.

Vax smiles once more at Keyleth’s sleeping form, and joins her in slumber himself.