#allura vysoren either

[mayapapaya33]

There is not nearly enough Gilmore in tlovm, nor Gilmore interacting with Vax and what little we did get felt off because the show was too busy trying to set up Keyleth and Vax. I get that they have very limited time but the way Vax was so passive around Gilmore's flirting in the tv show is just not accurate. Vax is an ACTIVE FLIRT. Initially because it got them better prices at the shop, and eventually because he genuinely enjoyed Gilmore's company and advice and developed feelings for him. It's just that those feelings were not as strong as his feelings for Keyleth. He felt bad about leading Gilmore on and had to talk to him about his feelings for Keyleth. Liam has stated that Vax's biggest regret is hurting Gilmore's feelings.

The show does NOT manage to convey that at all. I know they have a very limited time to pack hundreds of hours of intricate story into, so I am cutting them a lot of slack, but that's one of the few things that really did bother me in an otherwise fantastic show that I feel they should have done differently. (Most of my other complaints are minor nit picks or things where I'm grumpy but I recognize that they probably had no choice due to the medium change lol). I hope they do a better job of it in the future seasons. They'll have to in order to set up the rakshasa and the scene in the tower at the end of the campaign. We met the man's parents for fucks sake! (I hope they don't skip that, it's on the route to important plot, and Gilmore is a favorite character so hopefully it gets put in).

The deep conversations between Vax and Gilmore are some of my favorite moments in the campaign. I hope they don't get rid of them all, that would suck tremendously.

(They can't skip the rakshasa, it's why they go to Hell. Unless they come up with some bs reason to go to Hell, which would be stupid, because the Rakshasa scene is ICONIC. And they can't skip Hell, because first of all, it's fucking rad! Why would you skip it? But secondly, the contract with Ipkesh is important plotwise).

[utilitycaster]

Fighter Breakdown Tracker, episode 3x78

Welcome to what was originally an opportunity to talk about the myriad wizards (not Myriad wizards, a separate concept) of Campaign 2 that occasionally gets co-opted into other things when the thought arises. Anyway, obviously the main event was the Barbarian Breakdown and, relatedly, the Party Breakdown, due to their Communication Breakdown, giving Allura Vysoren specifically her 19th Nervous Breakdown, but I've already talked a lot about Ashton. How are the fighters doing?

As a reminder: characters are included on the basis of 1. are they a fighter, 2. are they remotely relevant to this campaign, and 3. do I have something funny to say about them. I cannot stress enough how important item 3 is in the decision process; do not make requests, my muse speaks to me and that is how the characters (and, to be honest, classes) are chosen.

Cassandra de Rolo: Yes! According to the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting (not reborn) she's multiclassed into fighter! Anyway that plan to go to the ziggurat went well, huh? totally normal and great. I like to think that due to her rogue levels she saw Fearne march down the ziggurat steps and just peaced out and has been chilling in Pike's little cabin ever since. 4/10: normal "is the world ending" concerns but otherwise she's having maybe the best day anyone on the Whitestone War Council can.

Jarett Howarth: he's specifically avoiding Bells Hells because motherfuckers keep teleporting from Marquet and not bringing any fusaka. This, plus normal "putting the Pale Guard on a war footing and also there's a really mad goat lady in the garden" bumps him up to a 6/10.

Orym: my serious thoughts about the space made for Chetney, FCG, and Imogen to step up aside I honestly think the semi-joking narrative of Orym going off in a huff and working out his feelings quite literally via the power of elaborate bodyweight calisthenics of the sort that grant you 20 Dex and 10 Str would be good for him. Allow yourself a little pettiness, Orym; it's good for the soul. 5/10 because I don't fucking know; we'll see next game.

Ariks Eshteross: I hope he's at peace and buried next to his love as requested; I still haven't gotten around to making those cookies actually and frankly I've had much more of an eye on the gunpowder tea shortbread. 0/10; I like to think he has found true rest.

Bertrand Bell: These motherfuckers have not visited the grave of their namesake at ALL. Traipsing around the Raven Queen's temple - literally everyone but Laudna and FCG has wandered over to that corner of the city - and NO ONE has taken a moment to pause and reflect. He died as he lived: everyone kind of setting him aside for more important matters except for followers of the Raven Queen. 8/10 because hopefully he was entertained by the raven show that got put on but also, come on man you couldn't stop by at all?

FRIDA: I have to imagine things in Vasselheim are wild and it's going to be missing FCG hours, but at least they're in great company! 5/10; they're a pretty even-keeled robot all things considered but the situation is pretty tense.

Otohan Thull: My sole regret about how great this episode is and the fact that we're dropping into the Fey Realm for a bit to have some much-needed time to regroup is that we are likely delaying their richly deserved demise. Anyway everyone's beloathed Palpatine knockoff is unfortunately super unflappable; another reason why they are boring as shit and why I very much want Bells Hells to make the bridge a little bit bloodier on the way up. 3/10.

Percival Friedrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III: Here's the thing. All things considered, his personal position is stressful, but not terrible. The ziggurat did not blow up; Gwen appears to either have not told him about her Delilah incident or did so in such a way that he didn't realize what was going on; he doesn't seem to have noticed the break-in into his parents' bedroom yet; Allura was reassuring re: Whitestone likely being safe (although...it's on a ley nexus so watch out!); and he got to deliver the line "ever since I met you, I knew you were destined for stupidity" which is actually how he specifically blows off steam. On the other hand, every single window in the castle has been destroyed, Allura had to leave, and I just checked and confirmed that Pike does not have the mending cantrip. Maybe one of the local clerics does? Maybe one of his kids does? Maybe Vilya or Ebenold does? Maybe Grog's in town and can be convinced that the role of the Grand Poobah etc etc is fixing windows? 6/10.

[vaxyl]

Don't mind me, just being one huge queer nerd... Excuse me...

Interesting, interesting...

No surprise seeing Vax is at the top of my most crushed on animated character list... 😅

(more info under the cut!)

--- CUT ---

So a while ago I realised that some of the things that a lot of my animated crushes (past and current) have in common so I wanted to compare them all to find my 'ideal' animated crush...

The result isn't exactly a shock to anybody who knows me. 😭

The Crushes, in order of earliest to most recent -

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb)

Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler)

Okabe Rinatro (Steins;Gate)

Kyoya Ootori (Ouran Highschool Host Club)

Lie Ren (RWBY)

Vax'ildan (The Legend of Vox Machina)

Allura Vysoren (The Legend of Vox Machina)

Shaun Gilmore (The Legend of Vox Machina)

Jarett Howarth (The Legend of Vox Machina)

Sylas Briarwood (The Legend of Vox Machina)

Delilah Briarwood (The Legend of Vox Machina)

Alucard / Adrian Tepes (Castlevania)

Xie Lian (Heaven Official's Blessing)

Hua Cheng (Heaven Official's Blessing)

Fu Yao (Heaven Official's Blessing)

Nan Feng (Heaven Official's Blessing)

Olrox (Castlevania; Nocturne)

Dikui (God Troubles Me)

Shi Qingxuan (Heaven Official's Blessing)

[ Shi Qingxuan appears twice because they often switch between a male body and a female body at will! and while I have a crush on them in both forms, its for different things ]

The Rankings, from lowest ranked to highest -

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz (4 points)

Delilah Briarwood (5 points)

Shi Qingxuan ♀️ (6 points)

Kyoya Ootori (6 points)

Dikui (7 points)

Jarett Howarth (7 points)

Shaun Gilmore (7 points)

Shi Qingxuan ♂️ (8 points)

Allura Vysoren (8 points)

Olrox (9 points)

Lie Ren (9 points)

Sebastian Michaelis (9 points)

Nan Feng (10 points)

Fu Yao (10 points)

Okabe Rinatro (10 points)

Hua Cheng (12 points)

Adrian Tepes (12 points)

Sylas Briarwood (12 points)

Xie Lian (13 points)

Vax'ildan (18 points)

To get these results, I took into account certain things like their physical appearance, things I associate the characters with, their personal stories and the different relationships they have with other characters.

In conclusion, I guess I really like tall guys with long and/or black hair who have trauma and are a little bit fruity... 😅

Also vampires and people who became divine later in life that are cursed to suffer, apparently.

Was genuinely surprised with some of the rankings though, like my boy Shaun or my girls Delilah and Allura for example.

I expected them to rank higher but in retrospect I understand why they didn't in the end. 🤷‍♂️

Either way, this also lines up with my irl relationships pretty well - sadly tho none of those were with vampires, gods or divine champions of gods 😭

[ataraxiamfrp]

Thank you all for participating in our activity check! The characters listed here are the ones who did not pass activity check or did not submit an activity check for the period from 5 OCTOBER - 5 DECEMBER.

If your character is on this list and wasn’t reapped last period, we will leave your app on your page for three days, during which you will have the chance to send us an ask to immediately reapp. If you choose to do this and you are dropped for activity in a future activity check, you will have to wait a week to reapp as that character.

To reapp, just send an ask including the following:

indication that you would like to reapp

character name and series

date

contact information

In the meantime, you will remain in the server, but be given a role that does not allow you to post until you either reapp. If three days pass without indication of a reapp, you will be removed from the server. If you would like to reapp after this point, then you will have to resubmit your full application. If you reapped last activity check, you will be immediately removed from the server and will have to resubmit your full application after a week if you wish to return.

Thanks everyone!

As a note, characters marked with an asterisk (*) must wait a week before reapping.

As always, please let us know if we have made a mistake and we can double check for you! Thanks a lot!

Dulmun (elijah)

Qrow Branwen (david)

Shoko Ieiri (basil)

Kaeyra (basil)

Faevyre Kili (basil)

Gray (basil)

Allura Vysoren (nox)

Kuvira Beifong (nox)

Gallagher (katie)**

Wolverine (katie)**

Izuku Midoriya (dave)

March 7th (vega)**

Keyleth

Zahra Hydris**

Laudna Bradbury**

Anya Forger

Robin (tha)**

Max (tha)**

Haruka Saikai (amy)

My Melody (alyssa)

Mithra (garth)

Yuuta Okkotsu (garth)

Shino Sherwood (garth)

Dan Heng (jun)**

Cassandra (pia)

Princess Peach (pia)

[beetlemancy]

Random thought before the campaign finale: sometimes I wonder how many adventuring group there are out there that Allura lends her hand to. I'd like to think that VM and M9 are not the only groups that she's known and aided, that there is a list of pig-headed adventurers calling to her for loots and supports over the years, that she and Kima are the only people that know of countless acts of selfless courage this side of Exandria. A keeper of heroes, if you will.

THIS IS THE COOLEST IDEA.

Oh my god, are there any Taldorei or Wildemount campaigns that have met Allura? That would be such a fun idea!

[mnemememory]

nothing to fear, but

Allura is so good at being afraid.

One day, Allura thinks, I’m going to wake up, and the whole world will be burning.

Allura wakes up, and her world burns.

Sometimes, it’s so easy to fall in love.

Allura has done it. So many times, in so many ways, Allura has fallen in love – with the way someone smiles, or the kind backlight of their eyes. It’s an active search, staring at people and picking them apart, bone by bone. She’s gotten good at it. There is so much to love about the world.

Kima doesn’t. Kima is hard edges and brittle, roughened skin. Her teeth are cut on glass. Sometimes, Allura reaches out and she can’t quite reach Kima without cutting her fingers.

“They’re going to die,” Kima says, because Vox Machina is many things, and one of them is doomed. Allura wants to reach out and brush the hair from Kima’s eyes, but she restrains herself.

“They might not.”

“They will,” Kima says. She looks tired. There are scars on her body that weren’t there fifteen years ago, a hardness to her jaw that won’t ever go away. Allura wonders what happened down there, in the Underdark, but she can’t quite gather up the courage to ask. And here, now, is the last place she wants to bring up the swelled bruising of Kima’s past. They need to be strong.

Allura shakes her head, and reminds herself to breathe. “They are different than us,” she says. She doesn’t say, they are better, but a part of her thinks it is so. “We failed. They might yet succeed.”

Here’s the thing: Allura has fallen a little bit in love with Vox Machina. She cherishes their trust, though she cannot return it. Not for this.

Kima’s smile is everything Allura has never wanted to see. Not on her. Not on Kima. Please, no. “I’m not afraid of dying,” she says. “But I think that they are.”

I’m afraid of dying, Allura thinks.

“I love you,” Kima murmurs into the skin of Allura’s collarbone, into the braids of her hair, into the tight line of her lips. Allura hitches her breath and hugs her tighter, so much tighter, because they are both fundamentally different people and they are going to die.

Allura wonders, sometimes, how things turned out as they have. When had she gotten so used to cutting her losses? She remembers, now, thinking that Kima was an inevitable loss. One more sacrifice on the road of life. Allura has a lot of bodies lain out in her wake, and Kima will be one more.

It’s easy to see why. Kima is a bad investment. Her smile is fire and she’s so, so small. Let’s go dragon hunting, she says, like it’s easy, like it’s just another adventure. I’m not afraid of dying.

“Don’t go,” Allura absolutely does not say. She would sooner cut out her own heart. “Please, don’t go. Stay with me.”

Once upon a time, Allura thinks, in the cold night before the dawn, when the rest of the world is silently still. Kima is curled up next to her, shivering. Once upon a time, the world was brave and happy, and there was peace –

(There was fire.

For however long Allura lives, there will always be fire licking away at the marrow of her bones. It scorches her blood thick and leaves her breathless, voiceless, useless. Allura is so afraid of being useless.

Kima is shouting, but Kima is always shouting. Allura struggles to open her eyes. There’s a high-pitched noise that beats to the tune of her heartbeat: da-dum, da-dum, da-dum –)

Allura strokes a soft, shaky finger down the side of Kima’s face. She traces invisible, long-healed scars, pulls gently at her hair. Allura is a good liar. Better than Vox Machina gives her credit for, at the very least. Gilmore sees it, but Gilmore is as good as dead, along with the rest of them. Walking corpses, talking corpses. Allura hasn’t had anything but ash in her lungs for weeks, now.

“I love you,” Allura wants to say, so badly, so very badly. It sticks to the back of her throat, pulling tight over her skin like a noose. The words won’t come, not even here, with only the still air to hear them.

Kima curls up a little tighter against Allura’s side, a little smaller. When she’s awake, it’s so easy to forget how small she is. It terrifies Allura, the way Kima can grow and shrink to fit her own awareness. One day, someone else is going to find out about this, she thinks, And I’m not going to be there to protect you.

Which is ridiculous. Kima has no need of Allura’s protection.

Here are some conversations Allura has never had:

“I don’t think we can win this.”

“I don’t know if I’m enough.”

“I can’t do this.”

“I miss you. God, I miss you all. So much.”

“I need you to stay with me.”

“I need you to come back alive.”

“I miss you, I miss you, I miss you.”

Vox Machina has, in fact, become larger than life.

Allura remembers them before – all of this. Before the dragons, before the Underdark. They remind her of Kima, all of them, growing to fit into their armour. Allura can only step back and watch, because what else can she do? They are a different kind of strong, to Allura’s kind. Less comfortable.

Inexplicably, she misses them in their grim smiles and tired eyes. There is nothing but terror around the city, these days; the stones stink of it. Vox Machina stinks of it, rank and rotting. Allura wants to badly to reach out and reassure them, but she can’t, because at night she closes her eyes and dreams. In them, she burns, and the rest of the world burns with her.

Kima goes.

Of course she goes.

The night before, she sits Allura down in their shared bedchamber.

“Don’t say it,” Allura says, shaking. Allura has spent so much of her life shaking.

Kima stares up at her, fingers threading into Allura’s. She doesn’t say a word.

“I know you have to go,” Allura says. “Don’t worry, I’m well aware.”

“If I don’t come back,” Kima says, and Allura cuts her off with a kiss.

(“We have to have this conversation,” Kima says, later that night.

“No we don’t,” Allura says. “Because you’re coming back.”

“Allie,” Kima says.

“You’re coming back,” Allura says, as firm as she is able. “You have to come back. I won’t forgive you if you don’t.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Kima says. “I’m not afraid of –”

“You’re coming back,” Allura says, pulling Kima into her arms.

Kima pulls back a little and stares at her, hair silhouetted in silver starlight. It is late. It is dark.

“Alright,” Kima says, from an eternity away. “Alright, Allie. I’m coming back. And you’d better take care of this place while I’m gone, okay? And yourself.”

Allura doesn’t say anything, just clutches her tighter, and tries to believe that they will all make it out of this alive).

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

Keep going on the Vaxleth captured fic!! Maybe give our Kiki some hurting with side loving… luv u!!!

Here's a link to part 1 and part 2! tw- aftermath of torture

They come back. Of course they do. Vax's head is resting on her lap when they hear steps in the hall. They clamber to their feet immediately. "Stay behind me," Vax tells her. Keyleth is about to protest, seeing that Vax is still bleeding and heavily favoring on leg. But before she can, the door bangs open and in walks their mask captors.

All Keyleth can discern from them is that they're two men. One is human or half-elf and the other is most likely a tiefling. "Grab her," the tiefling says, nodding to Keyleth.

"Don't touch her," Vax growls, stepping back protectively. "Take me."

The tiefling laughs, their voice deep and low, "We've already tried. It'll be far easier to break her." The other man shoves Vax roughly out of the way and with his injured leg, he crumples to the ground with a shout.

The man grabs Keyleth's arm roughly, hand so tight she's sure it will leave a bruise. Vax shouts for her, tries to stand, but quickly finds himself being kicked in the ribs as Keyleth is dragged out of the cell.

The man drags her through the dark stone hallways, all of them identical until the tiefling opens the door to a room with only a sturdy chair in the middle. Blood covers the floor with a shock of revulsion, she realizes that it's probably Vax's. The human shoves her into the chair, removing his belt to tie her at the shoulders to the chair.

"I don't know anything," Keyleth says. "Please, I don't know what you want from me."

The tiefling smiles wickedly, touching a finger to her chin, "Tell me what you know of Arcanist Allura Vysoren."

"She's my friend. I don't know what you want to know."

The tiefling grabs Keyleth's hair and yanks her head back, leaning over her intimidatingly. "What do you know of the Council of Tal'Dorei?"

Keyleth keeps her mouth shut. Any information on them would be useful information. The human chuckles, "Much like your boyfriend, girly. I wonder if you yell the same too." And he unsheathes his knife.

Keyleth doesn't know how long they have her. She's slapped and kicked and cut and beaten over and over, but she doesn't say a word, even as tears run down her cheeks and every instinct inside her screams to make it stop. Vax didn't tell them anything so she doesn't either.

Keyleth blacks out eventually and wakes up to the sound of Vax's voice. "Please wake up, Keyleth. Please." She groans and blinks her eyes open to see him leaning over her, tears on his cheeks.

"Vax," she murmurs. "Everything hurts." Pain covers every inch of her body. Is this what they did to Vax?

"No," he says. She hadn't realized that had been out loud. "They hurt you far worse. You've been out for a while. I-I bandaged you up as best I could."

It's then that she realizes that he's no longer wearing a shirt and she can see the bruises and cuts covering his torso. "I didn't tell them anything, I swear," Keyleth says, faintly. His face morphs into unbearable sadness.

"I don't care about that," he brushes her hair from her eyes. "Tell me how I can make this better, Keyleth."

"Make it stop," Keyleth says. It's a childish plea, but it's truly all she wants. "Please, Vax." Her eyelids feel heavy.

"No, no, Kiki, you can't go to sleep," he says. His voice is urgent, huh, what he's saying is probably important. But the darkness is so inviting, it doesn't hurt so much there. So she lets herself sink.

[your-turn-to-role]

What level do you think caleb was when he killed his parents?

i believe liam was actually asked this on talks once! if i remember right he didn't give a specific level, but low-ish, in like the 2-5 range

which makes sense, a wizard chooses their school at level 2, and we know bren was evocation

also they did get a decent amount of training and they were definitely a loooot better than your average 17 year old, but it helps to remember that most average people are like, level zero. at level 1 you can hold your own in a fight. at level 5 you're saving towns. allura vysoren, renowned and widely respected 40-odd year old professional arcanist, was level 13 in campaign one, and she was an adventurer when she was younger. keyleth gets made fun of a lot for saying that, at level 17, they were basically gods, but she's not wrong

adventurers level up fast both because the game requires it and because they're fighting and learning and honing their skills constantly in difficult battles

campaign two has a lot of impressive wizards, basically everyone we've met has been the best of the best, so there are some extremely high level wizards in there. i'd guess most of the cerberus are levels 18-20 (an archmage npc is level 18), as delilah briarwood was. essek's level 15 or 16 and he's been doing pretty much nothing but learn magic for a hundred years

so that in mind, being around level 3 or 4 or 5, for teenage assassins in training? definitely tracks. they all would have specialised in a school, and maybe had some other training in there too (matt doesn't build npcs like pcs, but we know the scourger could sneak attack, so there's some rogue mechanics involved)

bren would have had spell sculpting, the level 2 evocation feature where he can cast an area of effect spell (like with a lot of fire spells), and only hurt the people he chose too, his friends could stand in a fireball and not be touched, though fireball would probably have been the most impressive thing he could do, if he could cast it at all. fire bolt, scorching ray, burning hands, these would have been his staples i imagine

it's also, never really been stated if caleb still has the residuum in his arms or not? it could go either way, maybe it was removed at some point by caleb or by people at the sanatorium, maybe trent wanted it still there and digging into his own arms to get rid of it was a bit much even for caleb

but i'm very curious what that actually did, residuum as a material is basically a conductor of magic, to paraphrase matt from the first time it came up in campaign one, it's not magic in itself, but it can be added to an item to make it easier to enchant. we also know that it can be used as a replacement for any spell component

so given that, and the placement of the tattoos, i have to assume on actual volstrucker it's a way of conducting their magic to be more efficient, more focused, and more powerful. they're supplying the raw magic itself, but the residuum takes away a lot of the effort involved, making them much deadlier

for caleb, he doesn't have the tattoos, but he still at one point had that conductor. if he still does, can he learn to use it the same way? is it already boosting his magical abilities and that's part of the reason he's levelled so fast? does it amplify it but fail to direct it, leaving that control up to caleb, for even more symbolism?

i don't know, but i'm curious to find out

[aftonfamilyvalues]

Please rate my blorbinas, Allura Vysoren and her wife Lady Kima of Vord from critical role 🙏

looks semi royal. reminds of that game of thrones woman from before. any dragons? 5/10

i was going to say "lesbian" but then i read the "her wife" part. lol. strong lesbian! probably within either the good or lawful alignment. 8/10

[greatgodempresspan]

Ikithon claims that other members of the Assembly are interested in Caleb potentially joining their ranks. From what I can remember, the only two that Caleb has met face-to-face (while not in cat form) are Ludinus Da’Leth and Vess DeRogna.

In ep 88 Ludinus was pretty lukewarm about explicitly denouncing Trent and what he was doing. He personally finds Trent unpleasant, but he has his uses. he can be done with if necessary, but he doesn’t deem it necessary. Then, in ep 97 (also around the time that we find out about Essek, and that Ludinus is aware of how emotionally compromised he is with regards the M9) Ludinus responds to Caleb remarking that Ikithon is probably disappointed in him with “he is a great disappointment to many.”

He also seemed surprised and a bit disquieted to learn that Vess had offered the M9 work.

So. Vess and Ludinus are in the midst of a power struggle. Over the Beacons, over the Assembly itself, who knows? Ikithon, as a human in his 70s, is clearly not long for this world. The wizard that he had originally intended to succeed him (I’m not getting into whether or not he intended Caleb to be a vessel he could hop into or whatever Ikithon’s long game is just now) reappears very suddenly in the Dynasty, and has managed to gain some political pull over there. Enough that he and his companions are able to facilitate talks between the Bright Queen and King Dwendal. to say nothing of the fact that they apparently have the good graces of Allura Vysoren, member of the Council of Tal’Dorei.

I’m not sure if his acquaintanceship with Yussa would count for or against him with either of them. I’m gonna have to watch his scenes again.

Liam’s mentioned that Caleb was trained to be “charming” and Caleb does have high charisma. Who’s to say (from Vess and Ludinus’ point of view) that he hasn’t been using his training to win these allies to his side? Or that he has any genuine emotional ties to these people at all and hasn’t just been using them for his own survival?

(Also, pausing to point out that without being hyper-focused on Bren, I think Vess and Ludinus have also taken stock of Caleb’s allies and *their* usefulness. Just think what they could do with an Expositor of the Soul…)

Whether Vess is going to use the upcoming job to feel Caleb out, or begin “courting” him to scoop Ludinus, I’m not sure, but one or both of them are definitely going to offer up Trent in exchange for Caleb’s allegiance. And even if he doesn’t trust it, I think he’s going to have a very hard time rejecting the opportunity to be “welcomed” into the Assembly and bring that place crashing down from the inside.

And if nothing comes of this? Well, I have a back up idea for Nano.

[apropensityforcharm]

The Betrayer Gods Arc: Synopsis

I realised last episode that I had no idea what was happening in the current main plot of Critical Role when they started talking about Caedogeists and I’d never heard that word in my life. I am bad at processing verbal information (it goes in one ear and out the other) and I’d been travelling for much of the past episodes, so I was completely lost on this current Betrayer Gods arc. 

Naturally, I decided to spend the whole weekend trawling through summaries, episode transcripts, and youtube timestamps to piece together the current Betrayer Gods plot which has spread over the past 30 episodes. I hope to God someone other than me finds this useful. I tried so hard to keep it under 1000 words. So hard. 

Pt. I: the Abyssal Anchors (ep. 52 - 62)

The Mighty Nein begin discovering rifts underneath cities in Xhorhas which connect to the Abyssal plane, triggered by Abyssal anchors which shred the barrier between planes. These rifts allow increasing amounts of fiends and demons to pass through to the Material Plane, who then create local disrest and violence. (Caleb immediately connects the demons and stories of local madness to Tharizdun, but it goes largely ignored and then forgotten.)

Beau discovers a scrap of fabric trapped in a second Abyssal anchor, which belongs to a person dubbed “Blondie” that they observe through scrying. During the scry Blondie finalises plans for a meeting, mentions an ‘Angel’s Eye’, and reads a book about the Betrayer God Torog (the Crawling King), the patron god of tunnels and and torturers. Later, they learn Blondie serves the Empire in an official capacity, and has direct contact with King Dwendal, the Empire’s monarch.

Yasha begins having dreams in which she is shackled, and in which a red devil appears, watching her. 

Pt. II - the Orphanmaker (ep. 63 - 70)

The Mighty Nein intercept assassation plans from the Empire in the Dynasty and attempt to head it off; there they meet a drow who recognises Yasha, calling her “Orphanmaker”. The drow escapes, but goads the Mighty Nein into bringing Yasha north, to Bazzoxan. They track the drow through the Barbed Fields, learning that his name is Obann and he worships the Angel of Irons, which none of them have heard of.

Upon reaching Bazzoxan, the Mighty Nein head to the temple known as the Umbra Gates, which had been used as a place of worship to Torog in ages past. Outside the tomb is an inscription: Let lie the king’s instrument, deathless and detained, until the world ends. Further within the tomb is a second inscription: Build every bridge. Become every nightmare. Feast on every heart.

While travelling further into the temple, the party discover that the first inscription refers to the Laughing Hand, the ancient and unkillable champion of Torog, who is contained within this temple. 

The Mighty Nein reach the Laughing Hand’s tomb and are interrupted by Obann, who followed them in. He reveals himself to be the red devil from Yasha’s dreams and calls out to her, calling her his colleague under the Angel of Irons. Though the Mighty Nein fight fiercely to stop him, he succeeds in releasing the Laughing Hand from his tomb and bringing him under his control. The Mighty Nein kill Obann, but in his dying breath he Charms Yasha, turning her against the Mighty Nein at his will. The party are forced to flee the tomb, and leave both Yasha and the Laughing Hand behind. Yasha resurrects Obann the next day.

Pt. III - The Return of the Betrayer Gods’ Champions (ep. 71 - 84)

Dairon shares that Abyssal anchors were found in Zadash, suggesting that the Abyssal incursions come from a third party rather than either the Empire or Dynasty. Dairon also recognises Blondie, identifying him as Vence Nuthaleus, annex to Ludinus Da’leth (head of the Cerberus Assembly). Meanwhile, Jester scries as Yasha, Obann, and the Laughing Hand attack the Zadash branch of the Cobalt Soul, taking a book with them.

The Mighty Nein delve into an intense research project about the Calamity, the Betrayer Gods, and cults. They learn a lot of general information about the Calamity and Betrayer Gods, some highlights being:  the Laughing Hand was once a man known as Ganix who aimed to defeat Torog, but failed and was twisted into servitude forevermore, while his heart was tossed into an extraplanar space and never seen again. Obann was a servant of demon prince Graz’zt, but was “destroyed” after failing his prince on one occasion. The book taken by Obann contained information about a being named Jourrael. They find very little about the Angel of Irons. 

Though it takes time, they learn that Jourrael was also known as the Caedogeist or the Inevitable End. Jourrael was the Chosen Assassin of Lolth, the god of deceit, shadows, and spiders, who had a famous fear of Tharizdun. Jourrael was unkillable, similar to the Laughing hand, and was therefore bisected, their heart sent to the Lotusden in Xhorhas and their head sent to elves in Veluthil. 

Through continued scrying on Yasha, the Mighty Nein watch as her trio travels from Zadash to Kamordah, then to Xhorhasian swamps, then to dense forests. They determine that Obann aims to rejoin Jourrael into one piece, and embark on a chase to stop him. Though they reach the Lotusden in time to intercept him, they are once more unable to prevent him from retrieving Jourrael’s heart. He escapes, and they presume he raises Jourrael to being once more.

The Mighty Nein travel to speak with Yussah Erenis, a neutral party, but must enter the Archmage’s Bane to find him. While there, they come across a room labelled the Permaheart, which Beau realises may contain the heart of the Laughing Hand. The destroy the heart, and confirm through scrying that the Laughing Hand is noticeably weakened. 

Meanwhile, their new ally Allura Vysoren researches the Angel of Irons, and upon their exit from the Archmage’s Bane, she draws them into a ritual designed to reveal the Angel’s identity. Through this spell, they discover the Angel’s ruse: there is no Angel of Irons, only a puppet figure spreading the deeds and desires of Tharizdun, the Chained Oblivion, a being older even than the Betrayer Gods, and a vessel of hunger, madness, and violence.

And then Jourrael (presumably) appears and stabs Caduceus while they’re speaking to Pumat Sol. To be continued!

[utilitycaster]

Wizard Breakdown Tracker: Mighty Nein Reunited, Part 2

Gather ye wizards while ye may, though with the return to Campaign 3, we are finally headed to Yios, where there are wizards, once we finish with the Gloomed Jungles, where there are were-creatures, which are also very cool. The hierarchy is, as always: paladins; wizards; were-creatures; literally everyone else; dhampyrs, kalashtar, changelings, and "hey DM, can I play a tiefling bard with intelligence 7". But I digress.

Ludinus Da'leth: So at this point (ie, shortly post-this episode), Caleb, known bridge between the Cerberus Assembly and the Cobalt Soul, has taken a job at the Soltryce Academy, which means any efforts to make a new, slightly more palatable volstrucker program and quietly keep it from Archmage Becke are going to go straight out the window. The walls are closing in, and he doesn't even know that Jester can go to the Feywild. 7/10.

Astrid Becke: Caleb listened and took the job! That's one success in what's got to be a thankless new position in many ways. Also I still really want to know who the hell has become Archmage of Antiquity, or if the Assembly just writes that one off as "make a deal to bring back a powerful Age of Arcanum entity and raise it to godhood once, shame on you; make a deal to bring back an powerful Age of Arcanum entity and raise it to godhood twice, shame on us and also what the fuck are we going to do with two nickels in a society that uses gold, silver, and copper currency." 3/10; Astrid's doing better than she ever has in this tracker, and good for her.

Eadwulf Grieve: Caleb is still keeping him in mind, which is good, because he really is like...look, he's a wizard, so he's not dumb muscle, but compared to his two former lovers he's very clearly the 'And Peggy' of the bunch. On the other hand this means he's probably just organizing the Temple of the Raven Queen Yulisen Night Potlucks and inventing the Exandrian equivalent of Minnesota Hot Dish or something. 0/10.

Yussa Errenis: Is aware of the storm on the horizon. Is chilling in his tower. Is largely unbothered. Other people pointed out that while he has developed a reputation for fucking around and finding out, he has also technically never physically left his tower to do so, which is honestly impressive, but does explain why Beau did not have to bamf out a partially dissolved old wizard when she ended up in Uk'otoa's gullet. Anyway, glad he's keeping up with Caleb and making potions. 3/10, for being aware of the storm.

Allura Vysoren, whose name I keep misspelling: Yasha did give Kima back the sword, and Caleb doesn't seem to have her staff, and she helped make a new, cooler sword! 2/10 for League of Miracles reasons only.

Essek Thelyss: Still under a lot of political pressure, regardless of where he is...but he's also getting, as Figueroth Faeth would say, his kisses in, so better than I expected! 5/10.

Caleb Widogast: So here's the thing. It is, as the other post said, about the green beans. And it is, as my last iteration of this said, not time for deep Caleb meta in here. But I do have a lot of thoughts about the similarities between Caleb and Fjord, as I always do, and about how neither of them really had much of an understand of what happens in their life past That One Big Thing They Need To Do, having already woken up at some point and been like *Mitski voice* I used to think I'd be done by 20. I do feel that the Caleb Widogast of part 1 of this two-shot was truly a Caleb Widogast who could go either way re: the T-Dock usage, and the Caleb Widogast of part 2 of this two-shot is not; the event has not (in my understanding, at least) occurred but the decision has unconsciously been made. Also he's dating Essek and he gets to have Dragon Time, which sounds like Floor Time but better. He does get a 4/10 though, because he takes it upon himself to become the Mighty Nein's Social Event Coordinator. As someone who just had to cancel a carefully scheduled D&D session for tonight because I am sick but also the DM and if I have to talk for 2 hours while simultaneously using my brain I will cry, this is very stressful.

Veth Brenatto: Camp's going great! Only one kid died, and not permanently! 1/10.

Known Gem Wizard Hotsauce Lutefisk: Oh so the demigod leviathan CALAMITY SNAKE gets released from its prison beneath the sea, three seals in three temples broken in under 18 months, and yet, I, Halas Lutagran,

Bonus!

Warlock Breakdown Tracker

Fjord: For real? Who knows. I personally imagine that it does, as they say, briefly go to 11, because though Uk'otoa is dealt with and Zehir seems to have understandably gone "you are way too interested in love and the ocean for me to give a shit, I'm going back to bed", Fjord (not unlike Caleb) has to sit with the fact that he's done with that and he's happy OH GOD HE'S HAPPY WHAT THE FUCK DOES HE DO WITH THIS. Also he has to deal with the orphanage, which is going to be traumatic and unpleasant for sure, plus you know someone named "Grankton" is going to be holding a massive grudge against the world at large. But with time, it settles back down somewhere more reasonable, only to briefly spike and resolve again during Kingsley's little maneuver. So you know. Some numbers, probably.

[finelyfrenzied]

listen im not saying im thinking about allura vysoren in the context of the wait for it reprise when burr sings “death doesn’t discriminate. between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes”  and the guilt she must feel when thordak returns. because she and kima lost almost their entire adventuring party – lost their whole family because her plan didn’t work. because it didn’t keep him away.  she holds herself responsible for the deaths of not only her found but every single person thordak and the chroma conclave killed when he came back. 

but im not NOT saying that either.

[ihaveseentruebravery]

Ep. 57:

Caleb to a hesitant Mighty Nein, after failing to break through to the Bright Queen in her throne room: I would like to propose something... I think we should stop a war.

Ep. 87:

Caleb with the Mighty Nein, speaking to Allura Vysoren, after she helped get King Dwendal to a possible peace talk point with the Dynasty: Things are moving faster than either of these nations can track. If you... can do anything to stay a step ahead of it, please, do so. It is too much for us alone.

Me: uncontrollable sobbing

Also me: LOOK AT THEIR GROOOOWTH!! LOOK AT HOW FAR ALL THEIR EFFORT HAS GOTTEN THEM. THEY GOT TO THE KING. THEY HAVE ALLIES THAT BACKED THEM UP. CAAAAYLEB ASKED FOR HEEEEELP. I AM IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION. CALEB DIDN'T RUN!! 😭

[ataraxiamfrp]

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Allura Vysoren (nox)

Kuvira Beifong (nox)

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Anya Forger (tha)**

Delsin Rowe (syd)

Tanjiro Kamado (syd)

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Orihime Inoue (pup)

Sasariko Tatariko (scaly)

Eddie Brock (dust)

Mantra (dust)

Rolan (dust)**

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Mimiru "Milk" Mielle (cue/queen)

Bloodhound (eren)**

Etsu (eren)**

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Lyney (knox)

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Geralt Of Rivia (katie)**

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Zevlor (katie)**

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Deryk (shae)

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Reggie Rowe (charlie)**

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Kiana Kaslana (mikey)

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Rhistel Corym (shae)**

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Gregory (lune)**

Julian (lizard)**

Strife (lizard)**

My Melody (alyssa)

War (alyssa)

Nahida (mango)

Navia (mango)

Yara Davina (may)

Scaramouche (noct)

[kareenvorbarra]

ok i’m reading this very good au fanfic about Vox Machina in the Star Wars universe, and it’s making me think about SW Kima and Allura...if Vox Machina got together during the Empire era and gained renown when the Rebel Alliance was at its height, then Kima and Allura (who were young adventurers about 15 years before VM) must have met sometime during the Clone Wars. 

Allura Vysoren is a young Jedi, who was nearly done with her training when the war began. A skilled warrior who nonetheless preferred academic study to combat, she might have become a scholar or a diplomat, had she not been drawn into the conflict along with the rest of the Order. She attained full knighthood near the end of the war, and was on her way to her first command posting when Order 66 took effect; the clone troopers manning her small transport ship attacked her, but Allura managed to disable the ship and get to an escape pod in time. She went to ground in the Outer Rim, searching desperately for signs of other surviving Jedi, but all she found were reports of their deaths, and the encroaching Imperial presence kept her constantly on the run. 

Kima is a Mandalorian - Clan Vord, House Kryze. Her family have long been members of the Protectors, the traditional guard of the ruler of Mandalore and one of the only military units still operating in Satine’s pacifist regime. Kima’s parents both died when she was a child, protecting the Kryze family during the Civil War. Kima was eager to follow in their footsteps as an adult; though she had a warlike streak and didn’t always agree with the Duchess’ policies, she was loyal to the throne and took her duties as a Protector very seriously. She despised Death Watch for their senseless violence and cruel treatment of those they deemed beneath them, but after Maul took power she sided with Bo-Katan Kryze and her resistance, eventually coming to respect the younger Kryze sister and supporting her as Regent of Mandalore. When the Empire-backed Clan Saxon supplanted Bo-Katan, and the Protectors’ leader Fenn Rau forged an alliance with the Empire, an enraged Kima cut ties with the Protectors and fled her home for good, turning her considerable skill to hunting down criminals - hardly an honorable pursuit for a Mandalorian warrior, but better than serving the Empire.  

Allura and Kima met when Allura, her master, and their troops collaborated with a group of Mandalorian fighter pilots on an important mission for the Republic. Kima Vord was the newest member of Platinum Squadron, a cocky young pilot with quick reflexes and a quicker temper, skilled at both flying and ground combat (where she favored massive blasters that she handled with ease despite her small frame). Jedi Commander Allura Vysoren was kind and level-headed, a serious and disciplined student of the Force with a head for strategy. At first Kima found Allura humorless and infuriatingly calm, and Allura bristled at Kima’s brash overconfidence, but after being separated from their allies and forced to work together to survive a dangerous situation, they gained a new respect for each other’s abilities and quickly became close. They kept in touch for a while once the mission ended, but the war made long-distance communication difficult, and at some point it was too much time and effort for either of them to send messages. 

They meet again by chance in a run-down hotel in the Outer Rim, a few years after the fall of the Republic. Kima’s had some success as a bounty hunter by now - she’s started to make a name for herself, and has more than enough money to support her fairly spartan lifestyle. Allura fares somewhat worse; she takes short-term jobs that pay under the table and avoids anything that might give away her abilities, she changes names and planets every few months. She’s lonely and exhausted and her search for other survivors has proven futile. For a moment Allura’s afraid Kima might turn her in to the Empire (the bounties on anyone with Jedi training are exorbitantly high), but she’s always been good at sensing the intentions of others, and Kima’s always been a terrible liar. Kima, once she gets over her shock at finding find her old friend still alive, is furious that the galaxy has been so cruel to Allura and heartbroken to see her so close to giving up. For her part, Allura’s relieved to have finally found someone she can trust, someone she can talk to and spend time with who already knows who she is. They rent a room in the hotel so they can talk in private, get drunk on terrible liquor, and end up falling asleep in the same bed. The next day Kima asks if Allura will travel with her; Allura doesn’t hesitate before saying yes.