#also Kima and Allura are very married

[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. 

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

Below you will find a (mostly) complete list of all the aus created here on my blog! Do you have an idea? Send me an ask about it! You can tip me on my ko-fi!  (seriously y’all I’ve spent a lot of time on these aus so it’s really great to have my work appreciated!)

#happy ending au - The Raven Queen doesn't come for Vax, instead he's able to build a life with Keyleth after everything. (also on ao3)

#hunger games au - Pretty self explanitory, a vox machina hunger games au. (Do not send me asks or prompts based on this au)

#ballet au - The vox machina are members of a ballet company, this is mostly vaxleth and percahlia with a shit ton of angst but also some fluff (also on ao3)

#childhood friend au - What if Keyleth had met the twins before they left Byroden? This is mostly vaxleth, but also some percahlia

#twitch au - All of vox machina are twitch streamers, this is mostly fluff (but with occasional doses of angst)

#soulmate au - Soulmates can feel sensations from the other, pressure, pain, etc. vox machina

#medieval au - Keyleth is a princess and the rest of VM are knights/hunters/healers (also on ao3)

#percy’s deal au - Percy took the deal with the Raven Queen instead of Vax, giving his brother the remaining years of his life to spend with his family

#modern au - Pretty self explanatory, it features EMT Vax and farmer’s daughter Keyleth

#foster care au - A modern au where Percy and Cass are fostered by Kima and Allura after their family’s murder and grow up along side Keyleth.

#famers market au - Vax and Keyleth meet at a farmer’s market and she offers him and his sister a safe place after they run from Syldor. A few months later Percy wanders onto the farm covered in blood.

#firefighter au - All of vox machina are EMTs, firefighters, or social workers.

#bookstore au - Keyleth runs a small bookstore and Vax is working for the Clasp, things don't go well. (also m9 is here and forcibly adopting Keyleth)

#biker au - All of VM are bikers when Vax and Vex are forced to take in Velora.

#vampire vax au - Vax was turned into a vampire by Sylas.

#aasimar percy - Exactly what it sounds like

#lighthouse au - Vax gets sent to work at a remote lighthouse as a punishment but meets the very bubbly Keyleth, the daughter of the owner.

#arranged marriage au - Beau and Bren get married, Bren to find information about the Cobalt Soul and Beau to find out how to break Volstrucker programming.

#kiki and percy arranged marriage au - Keyleth and Percy get married and live in Zephrah and have a qpr

#kiki and percy childhood friend au - Keyleth and Percy are nextdoor neighbors and family friends born three weeks apart. They meet the rest of VM at a fancy private school.

#space au - A future version of Exandria is corrupted by magic and uninhabitable, Exandrians take to the stars. VM and M9

#paranormal au - Percy has always been sensitive to ghosts, something that comes in handy when he joins Vex and Vax's paranormal investigating team.

#lavish chateau au - Vex, Vax, Scanlan, and Grog are courtesans at the Cheateau.

#teacher au - All of VM are teachers at a public school, the M9 are some of their students.

#keyleth’s wife - Many years post VM, Keyleth finds love again in widowed Tempest Blade Elenora.

#rock band au - Vox Machina is a rock band.

#ashton de rolo au - As a teenager, Ashton was adopted by the de Rolos. Years later, he and Vesper joined the Bells Hells.

#werewolf kiki au - I mean, it's what it sounds like.

#four seasons au - All of VM represent different times of year.

#baby box au - Kaylie is left in the hospital as a baby with only a phone number, when NICU nurse Pike calls it, she finds her college friend Scanlan.

#dragon au - All of VM are dragons, the Chroma Conclave are an adventuring party trying to take over the world.

#age swap au - What if Percy and Cassandra’s ages were switched? Normally this au features 18 y/o Percy, Kid!Percy denotes him being 15.

#orym's baby au - A few years into their marriage, Orym and Will adopted a baby halfling girl.

#empire siblings neighbor au - Caleb is Beau’s tutor as she grows up, they lose touch when he’s taken to the Soltryce only for them to reunite as adults.

#surfing au - Keyleth, Pike, Grog, and Vex are all surfers while Vax is a lifeguard and Percy makes surfboards. Scanlan plays loud music on the beach.

#keyleth’s brother - What if Keyleth had an older brother?

#cassandra in vm au - Cassandra was the one to escape Whitestone instead of Percy.

#circus au - all of VM are circus performers

#once upon a time au - All of VM, M9, and BH are stuck in Storybrooke. With only Vesper and Vax to save them.

#royalty au - Vex and Vax are a prince and princess, the rest of VM are commoners who befriended the twins without knowing who they are.

#cassandra is julius's daughter au - exactly what it sounds like

#zombie apocalypse au - Exactly what it sounds like, VM

#broadway au - All of VM are broadway performers

#reincarnated au - Vax is brought back to life with a single purpose, to kill Keyleth

#fight club au - Inspired by Creator Clash, Keyleth is a boxer in an underground ring.

#wild west au - a cowboy retelling of the Chroma Conclave are

#cheerleading au - all of VM are cheerleaders on the same squad

#volstrucker au - Caleb is sent to kill Princess Jester of Nicodranas. She tries to break is programming

#siren au - Vex is a siren and she draws Percy in, but falls for him before she can kill him

#pixie hallow au - all of VM are pixie hallow faries

#byroden au - Percy goes to Byroden after his family was killed

If you want to request that I write any fics in in these aus, or any fics in general, please refer to this post about my request guidelines before sending anything in And if you want to write a fic in any of my aus or based on any of my headcanons, all I ask is you credit me with the idea/au and tag me or link to my blog if you post on Tumblr. And if you post it on ao3 please list it as a related work if it's an au I've already written or link to my Tumblr or AO3 page here’s the link to a post with the rest of the aus tagged, this should make it easier to find all the posts for each au!

[vexing-imogen]

the persistence of 1/?

Vex wakes with a pounding headache and the nagging sensation that something isn’t quite right. She’s on hard packed earth instead of her nice, soft bed, and she can hear her friends’ voices, all some measure of concerned. She opens her eyes with a groan, wincing at the too bright sunlight.

Pike is right there, her small hand on Vex’s cheek. The furrow between her brows relaxes when she sees Vex’s eyes open. “Hey,” she says softly. “How are you feeling?”

Vex tries to sit up, gasping when her vision swims with the movement. She lies back down, fighting off a wave of nausea. “Fuck.”

Pike hums sympathetically. “Yeah, you hit your head pretty hard.” The throbbing in her skull recedes somewhat as Pike pumps one healing spell into her, and then another. “Just rest for now. I’ll be back to check on you in a little while.”

After a few minutes, she becomes aware of a presence at her side. A hand strokes her cheek, and she risks opening her eyes again, expecting her brother. Instead it’s Percy, staring down at her with a mix of trepidation and relief that feels wildly out of place. It’s almost like he’s... No, that’s absurd. She dismisses the thought before it can even finish.

And yet. There’s something off about him, about everything, that she can’t quite place. A hazy, dreamlike quality that’s not quite deja vu. Maybe Pike’s right. Maybe she just hit her head really hard.

She gives him the winningest smile she can manage while feeling like she got hit with a tree. “Can you help me sit up, darling? I promise I’m not going to throw up on you.”

Percy chuckles. “Because I’ve never heard that before.”

She frowns. She certainly doesn’t recall having ever thrown up on Percy. She’s sure Scanlan and Vax would never let her hear the end of it if she had. 

Still, he helps her sit up, far more gentle than she’s come to expect from Percy. He stays by her side, watching her with an expression she can only describe as fond. His hand comes up to stroke her cheek again.

“I thought we agreed we were going to stop doing this,” he teases. Before Vex can ask what he means, he leans in and kisses her.

What. The. Fuck.

It’s not a bad kiss, all things considered. It’s soft and sweet, little more than a press of his lips against hers. But it’s also incredibly intimate, somehow. He kisses her like he knows her. So she does the only thing she can think of when he pulls away.

She slaps him. Hard.

He looks confused more than anything. A little hurt, a little betrayed. “Vex, wha-”

“What the hell, Percy?” She shoves him for good measure. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

There’s a low whistle, and Vex turns to see Grog and Scanlan watching them.

Scanlan is clearly trying to hold back laughter. “What did you do, de Rolo?”

“Yeah,” Grog chimes in. “We could hear that slap from the other side of the clearing.”

Percy shrugs. “I...don’t know?” he says weakly.

Vex is about to protest that he knows exactly what he did when Pike and Keyleth join them. “What’s going on, guys?” Keyleth asks. “We heard yelling.”

“We seem to have interrupted a bit of a lovers quarrel,” Scanlan says, smirking.

“Vex slapped Percy,” Grog adds.

Keyleth frowns. “Oh.” She turns to Vex. “Why?”

Vex sighs, her cheeks flaming. “He kissed me.”

They’re suddenly all looking at her like she’s grown a second head. “And that’s a bad thing?” Pike asks slowly.

“Well, yeah,” she says. “You don’t just kiss someone without asking them first.”

That only seems to confuse them more. “Not even if you’re married?” Scanlan asks.

Vex rolls her eyes. “Well, alright, but that’s different,” she says. “Percy and I aren’t married.”

A few jaws drop at that. Percy’s frozen in place, his eyes wide. “Oh dear.”

That nagging feeling of something being Very Wrong returns with full force. She shrinks back, curling in on herself. “Why are you all acting so weird? What the fuck is going on?” It suddenly hits her what, or rather who, has been missing this entire time. “Where’s my brother?”

There’s a low muttered fuck, she can’t tell who from. Percy buries his face in his hands. Keyleth turns away from her entirely.

“Vex?” Pike asks, approaching her slowly. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

It’s harder than she thinks it should be, but she finally settles on an answer. “Allura,” she says. “Um, she came to the Keep last night to give us the papers we’d need to get into Kraghammer. So we could go find her friend, Kima.”

A terrifying silence falls over the group, broken only by Grog’s muttered, “Oh shit.”

Pike takes a deep breath, grasps both of her hands. “Vex, um, I don’t know how to say this, but...”

“But what?” Vex asks. “Pike, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know exactly,” Pike admits. “But, going into Kraghammer to find Lady Kima? Vex, we did that five years ago.”

[violet-t-9]

Check in on my (not very realistic) wish list for episode 141

 1. Blooming Grove Clay family reunion! Hugs and tears! Home-cooked meal and tea! Much needed relaxation and downtime after saving the world.

Ay that was a nice meal and a good night’s sleep.

2. Widogast’s Nascent Nein (9!) Sided Tower because Caleb still has a spell slot for that! So many cats and books. Also, rooms for Essek and Molly (9!). Bonus: seeing more rooms on the 8th floor of the tower?

Oof well thanks Trent now we don’t get to see the tower again, ever. I’m 100% sure that Essek will see his room during the Aeorian study fun times and Luc and Yeza will see their rooms in magical summer camp with professor Widogast though, so I’m happy.

3. Check in and visiting Allura to return her staff and Kima’s Holy Avenger (”hey we saved the world killed Lucien stopped the city Allura are you proud of us? You are? Tell us who is on the Tal’Dorei council.”)

They mentioned it, but they didn’t play it out, unfortunately. Alas, the members of the Tal’Dorei council shall forever remain a mystery.

4. Check in and visiting Yussa and Wensforth to apologize for their last visit to the Tidepeak Tower and using his emergency exit plan, but Yussa being too grateful to be saved from a screaming city hivemind to care.

Yep, thank you Caleb for remembering Yussa lol. Should have known that he would want to study the Happy Fun Ball... Wizards sharing knowledge, how nice! Also, Veth’s goodbye to Wensforth was very sweet.

5. Molly getting more and more of his memory back and slowly becoming his old flamboyant self.

I... wow I mean I guess Kingsley? This technically happened? He is going to become someone new, which is always exciting! He got a lot of... interesting memories back too. He is also interested in learning about Molly’s memory too, even though he is somebody else (and just as flamboyant).

6. Caleb says goodbye to Frumpkin and there is either a sweet farewell or Frumpkin just goes “nah fam I choose my wizard you can’t get rid of me”.

Aw Frumpkin didn’t feel ready to leave at first... :( The actual farewell was indeed short and sweet, I loved it. 

7. Beau and Yasha moments, conversations, fun times, shameless PDA, or potentially fade to black because they deserve it.

Camping outside at night, aw. Their moment after the Zeenoth trial was very touching as well! “Yes, my love?” and “my Expositor” lol how romantic they are. They are planning to settle down and explore Yasha’s past together! Their honeymoon little trip! Also, “I will have you and then some” was indeed hot.

8. Jester and Fjord being domestic, adorable and sharing kisses/conversations or potentially fade to black because they deserve it.

The sleep snuggle was soo cute and Jester’s love admission was adorable! Also the rain and double confession wow Fjord what a romantic man. Their conversation in Nicodranas was sooo cute guys. They planned boat trips!

9. Caleb and Essek have a long one-on-one conversation about their “it’s complicated” relationship and have some more physical contact (still reeling from the forehead touch last episode).

Caleb attempting to include Essek in the globe of invulnerability and Essek dragging Caleb away from melee combat aw. The kiss on the cheek and the empathetic hug... I will take the time travel conversation as well. 

10. Veth, Yeza and Luc’s joyful/tearful family reunion and happy fun times in which Veth and Yeza may or may not celebrate in private.

Aw that was a nice reunion, so very cute. Veth gets to fully return home to her family after saying goodbye! I’m going to assume that she celebrates her return with Yeza in private. 

11. Cad’s moments with his family and also with Molly (because it’s fun to watch them on screen together and conversing let’s be real).

Caduceus gets to be with his family now, enjoying life at the blooming grove! He deserves the relaxation!

12. Jester’s reunion with her mother with big hugs and finding out that parent trap TM has succeeded thanks to her genius plans. Also, the gentleman being a super awkward but loving dad.

Yes I knew it would work! The gentleman is a nervous drinker confirmed lol. The mother-daughter talk was very nice and a great reminder!

13. The Mighty Nein plans for the future: getting rid of Cloven Crystal, Fjord visiting Vandran (with Jester probably, who discusses Tusk Love with him) and maybe Sabian? Yasha’s plan to bring flower to Zuala (trip with Beau?). Beau’s plans regarding Zeenoth’s trial (has that happend yet? Does she want to go?) and Caleb’s plans for the assembly (or even further ahead, magical school? Aeorian research with Kryn Colleague? How pissed is Ludinus Da’leth?)

Well, the empire siblings sure started a task force against the assembly huh. Also yeah Caleb you tell him, F**k your vacancy Martinet Ludinus Da’leth! Professor Caleb will teach Luc. Astrid would be more interested in the position anyways. Fjord got to visit Vandran with Jester and got him to join their sailing adventures! Jester also talks about Tusk Love with him wow. Beau testified against Zeenoth with Yasha by her side! Yasha gave flowers to Zuala on a trip with Beau! Caleb and Essek got to do their Aeorian research study! Fjord’s cloven crystal adventure was also addressed! I’m so good at predictions you guys I KID YOU NOT I predicted everything.

14. Getting an update about Astrid and Eadwulf to find out that they are in fact doing fine because Trent is in deep trouble and under heavy investigation by the Augen Trust and Cobalt Soul (bonus: Trent is already starting to get what he deserves. Or even better, Trent has died from liver failure in jail. Like his jaundice really kept getting worse so one can hope I guess?)

F**k you Trent, you just had to show up and ruin everything didn’t you. Well, Astrid and Eadwulf are fne now, and Trent IS in deep trouble and rotting in jail. Still hoping that he will die from liver failure after like, a few years.

15. Fjord officially “meeting the parents” and Gentleman/Marion giving Fjord the shovel talk because that didn’t happen last time.

Aw he didn’t go with! But the gentleman did talk about Fjord anyways lol and gave her some sound advice.

16. Wedding mentions/discussions? Proposals? Anyone? No?

Well Jester proposed to marry... her parents? Lol did not see that one coming. Veth and Yeza renewing vows yes! It was a nice suggestion. 

17. Artagan/sprinkle joins in the celebration because why not (bonus: Sprinkle gets to be free! Or whatever an undead weasel could be lmao)

Artagan and Jester’s conversation was very nice development for them. Sprinkle gets to stay forever, unfortunately for Sprinkle lol.

18. Obligatory wish for Essek’s fancy dunamancy or magical items (like I know we will never see dark star probably but I live for spell casting flavours).

Essek’s hold person on Trent was clutch, “stay down”, what a king. The tether essence, lightning bolt and gravity sinkhole were all wonderful. Still sad about the dark star never being seen though.

19. Obligatory wish for the polymorph spell (look, I just love it okay).

Hey, Jester threatened Astrid with it! Polymorph mention wins! Fjord was sad about the potential choice of turning her into a turtle but it would have been funny.

20. Obligatory wish for Caleb to use more fire/customized/dunamantic spells creatively or with nice flair (what’s sexier than wizards NOTHING).

What’s sexier than counterspells and dispel magic NOTHING. Also hey, the manacles of stasis worked!

21. Discussion about Essek’s future because oh boy can he even go back to the Dynasty? Have they found him out yet? If they did, how mad is the Bright Queen? Are Volstruckers too busy to chase him down? We need to know!

Oh man I mean Essek found a way to live freely at least! With a lot of illusions and identities, of course. He also got to stay in contact with the M9! I think he may show up in campaign 3!

22. Group hug! Group feast! Group cheer! I dunno, just do group stuff. They are the Mighty Nein, they are the Mighty Nine, they saved the world!

A lot of group hugs and feasts! I especially loved the hug when they said goodbye to Essek. 

23. Visiting/checking in with other NPCs or allies potentially! Like Kiri, Calianna, Twiggy, Keg, Shakasta, Bryce, Dagen oh also the Hag (I’m kidding).

They checked in with Orly! Not these allies but you know, Orly is awesome. 

24. Obligatory wish for everyone (the Nein, their friends/families) to get a happy ending that gives me a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment, and that the episode/campaign ends with a poetically beautiful scene!

Yes, it was a very poetic and very beautiful story indeed

I love the Mighty Nein/Nine, I love the cast. I’m so grateful for their story in my life. Words are not enough to describe my thankfulness for being able to go on this journey with them.

Now excuse me I just need to go sob in a corner.

My score: 19/24

Seriously though check out #13 I’m proud of that one

Other Highlights: 

Caleb hit 100 HP OMG I too am proud of him.

Well I didn’t expect the boss fight but I’m glad we are getting one? 

Caleb’s produce flame was used by Veth on Fluffernutter, nice!

The Veth + Beau putting collar combo was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, also there is something poetic about Caleb relying entirely on his friends and Astrid to carry out the collar tactic on Trent.

The forced empathy commands by Cad lmao wow angry Cad is scary, too bad Trent didn’t have any.

Veth’s silent image... Caleb disintegrating and burning everything in the T-dock... Caleb’s book for his parents... Professor Widogast... Excuse me I’m going to cry now.

[but-who-needs-dignity]

Some background: Kima (halfling paladin) and Allura (human wizard) had been adventuring companions some 15 years earlier. After Vox Machina rescued Kima (at Allura’s behest) from the underdark in Kraghammer, the two rekindled their close relationship from that time in their lives. They became romantically involved (and later married). This is basically from when they’ve freshly gotten together and Allura’s topping Kima for the first time. Kima’s still been in love with Allura for all these years and is still a little bit incredulous that they’re actually together. From what I can tell from Critical Role episodes, Kima’s a badass in battle but also a little bit shy and self-conscious, especially in matters of sex and when the spotlight is on her. Hence, a bit of angsty gay shit, because goddammit, the woman she’s been in love with for years wanting to go down on her just brings up a lot of “ahhHHHHHH!”  I might write a lil more intro so it isn’t *just* BAM SEX, but here’s what I have. Pls don’t judge me, friends.

Kima can hardly believe this is real. But when she opens her eyes again, she feels Allura’s unbraided golden hair falling along Kima’s own naked torso, sees Allura’s lips around her own breast, feels the warm kisses on her own nipples. It feels too indecent to watch, but Kima can’t look away as Allura gives a gentle bite to her nipple, pulls away from her breast with a kiss, and nestles her body down even lower. Allura kisses between Kima’s breasts, down her muscled torso, around her belly button, and shifts to the side to gently lick at the jut of her hips. Satisfied with the gentle moans that Kima couldn’t help making, she goes lower still, down to where she can already see how wet her lover is, and gently, teasingly plants a ghost of a kiss on her outer lips.

This can’t be happening. But it is. Allura’s blue eyes glance up as she slowly—so slowly—licks gently along Kima’s lips from her entrance up, locking on to direct eye contact as she reaches her clit and tenderly kisses it.

It’s too much. This is too much. This is too vulnerable and embarrassing and is turning her on so incredibly much and it feels selfish but also Allura seems more than happy to be down there and that thought alone makes it feel like Kima’s mind is about to explode.

Allura, not breaking eye contact, licks inside of Kima’s slit, gently kissing and sucking on her inner lips. And then, Allura has the audacity to moan when she’s not even the one with the head of this beautiful woman between her legs. Oh my god, the thought that going down on her was turning Allura on was too much for Kima.

Kima couldn’t help it. She broke eye contact, she hid her hands in her face. This moment was so raw and so real and so intimate and somehow it brought up every thought that she had about not deserving Allura’s love, about being sure that the woman from her past would stay in the past and Kima would have to get over her eventually. And the thought that Allura was here and focused on her and not even just returning a favor, but truly, genuinely, wanted to please Kima—wanted to turn her on, to make her hers, and to worship her body and taste her and make her moan—was overwhelming. She didn’t know how she could get more drunk on desire and more incredibly in love with this woman she’d been trying to hide her love from for years and years. 

Allura, damn her, noticed right away. She brought her mouth up from between Kima’s legs—oh my god, her face was wet and despite herself Kima felt a flash of heat down her core—and asked, “is everything okay?”

There was a look of genuine worry on Allura’s face when Kima actually looked her in the eye again. “I’m so sorry,” Allura said. “Am I going too fast? Are you not enjoying this? I can stop at any point, absolutely no offense taken. We don’t have to do this tonight. Or at all, if you don’t want to.”

Allura seemed to look straight into Kima’s soul, something that, whenever she did it, was equal parts intimidating and absolutely heart-melting.

“No, no, I... please keep going. I’m just honestly a little bit rattled because it feels like I’m enjoying this too much, and you’re too beautiful, and, just making sure, do you actually want to do this?”

Allura laughed. So absolutely musical, so adorable. “Kima. This was my idea, remember? There is nowhere in the world I’d rather be than right here.” She punctuated the thought with another soft kiss between Kima’s thighs, and this time, Kima let herself fully experience what Allura was giving her. And god, was she good at what she was giving.

Allura licked up from the wetness at Kima’s entrance to her clit, taking her it in her mouth and sucking gently as her tongue circled around. Kima couldn’t stop a loud, guttural moan from her throat, or her hips from keening into the contact of Allura’s mouth. And Allura kept sucking and licking harder, and faster, and soon Kima felt tension building up inside her.

“Allura. Allie, I love you. Allie, I’m about to—”

Allura broke contact momentarily to tilt her head up slightly, gripped her hands around Kima’s hips, and gasped, “I love you, too. I’ve got you. It’s okay to let go.”

At those words, the expression of genuine love in Allura’s eyes, the patience and care with which she was being treated—Kima started to fall apart very soon after Allura lowered her tongue again to flick over Kima’s clit. Kima tightly gripped Allura’s shoulders, she strained her hips into her mouth, and she completely surrendered.

Her legs stiffened, her hips rolled up, and she moaned Allura’s name so loudly and so many times that she was mortified as soon as the last of her orgasm faded away.

As soon as she was sure that Kima was finished, Allura came up, wiped her mouth off, and set her head on her much smaller lover’s shoulder, gently cradling her arms around her waist.

“Goodness,” Allura sighed. “That was even better than I thought it would be. Far surpassing the dreams about doing just that that were filling my head years ago on our adventures together, late at night in that tent we shared...”

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Allura? You felt the same way back then? I mean, I know we had kissed a few times, but it wasn’t just me pining and wondering if it was real or the heat of battle or--”

Allura rolled over and forcefully kissed Kima, stopping her rambling instantly. Kima tried not melt into the bed when she tasted herself on Allura’s tongue.

“That might have been the case,” Allura said with a teasing wink. “Now, I’m exhausted and I’m sure you are, too. Let’s get some sleep, my love.” With that, Allura nestled her face into the base of Kima’s shoulder, gave her neck a soft kiss, and sighed. “I love you.”

Kima nestled into her girlfriend, returned her kiss with one on the top of Allura’s head, and sighed happily. “I love you, too.”

[itcameuponamidnightqueer]

beau does leave. 

not forever, not without the promise of returning but just to....reevaluate some things. they've been doing so much lately and getting into bigger and bigger shit and a lot of that responsibility and burden is on her shoulders, and then her dad—and it's so much, and she takes some time to breathe.

she and caleb teleport to the cobalt vault in vasselheim and he stays with her for a bit, maybe a week, just to make sure she's actually not going to bolt.

once he's gone, beau spends a few days researching with the rest of the monks, giving herself time to be still and quiet and useful. but the restlessness won't go away so she approaches the head monk and asks him if he knows someone—she's a very powerful wizard, wears a lot of blue, very attractive in her mid-fifties even though she's unfortunately married...

the monk looks at her like she has three heads—of course we know who allura vysoren is; anyone of higher learning in exandria worth their salt knows who allura vysoren is; what a silly question; who are you?

beau rolls her eyes, flips him off, and asks him as nicely as she can to contact her. she follows allura back to emon, tells her everything she's missed over breakfast. allura stops her after a few minutes and leaves the room, coming back with a groggy, grumbling halfling who wakes up more and more with every story beau tells. beau thinks that if keg and nott were rolled into one person, that would be kima. it's an absolutely terrifying thought. kima is entirely enthralled by everything beau shares, twisting in her seat and reacting loudly to every important moment.

after five minutes, allura's left eye develops a twitch. 

but she lets beau speak until she runs out of breath or words, then very calmly and steadily says, "that sounds like a terribly trying experience. i'm very sorry you had to go through it and i sympathize with every hardship. but....i think i know a few people you should talk to."

beau is picked up by a gorgeous half-ef—she thinks maybe she should get allura to spill stories of her own, if women like these are in them. beau offers a small wave and is rewarded with a smirk and a wink, and very soon they arrive in whitestone.

beau holes up in one of their guest rooms for a while, not really doing anything but not really NOT doing anything? vex and percy are those kind of important people where they're busy and they have responsibilities, but beau never really actually sees them working except for when percy disappears into his workshop.

she kind of just wanders around the castle and gets to know everyone there—and vex loves how loud and brash and unapologetic she is; cassandra loves how helpful she is with diplomacy and matters of state; percy loves that he can see her brain whirring as she helps him tinker and create, as he tells her the history of his home.

(beau loves that vex understands the way fathers break you; that cassandra understands how hard it is to remake yourself; that percy understands redemption is a very slow slog through lots of mud).

and slowly, one by one and over the course of a few weeks, there are visitors to whitestone who all seem to have something to say to beau

—the goliath, who knows that strength is not always sacrifice, who knows that you only get help if you ask for it;

—the gnomes, who know that faith in other people is just as important as faith in a higher power;

—the artificer, who doesn't understand why he had to cross continents when beau was already on his—but who also knows that fathers are imperfect and sometimes you have to let them go;

—and the druid, who visits last and for the shortest amount of time—whose smile doesn't always reach her eyes, who carries power and duty in the mantle on her shoulders, all while beau can see that she's holding back a hurricane behind her eyes; who knows that life is unbearably short, that we will all lose everything someday and it will hurt more than any of us can really prepare for—and it is always worth it; it is always worth something

jester sends messages every day and beau always replies no matter what time it is, because she needs to build up her friends' trust in her (even if they say they never lost it), and jester is too important to ignore.

after keyleth leaves, beau waits for jester's message, doesn't even leave the dinner table to respond once it comes—

"i'm ready to come home, jes. can you come get me?"

(the entire party, of course, is there the next day).

[words-writ-in-starlight]

torture buddies AU if you’re in the mood for it! if not, how about Good Omens AU of Vox Machina?

On the one hand, I’m always in the mood to Angst about my boys, but THIS ALTERNATIVE IS TOO GOOD TO TURN DOWN.  This is not really in the correct format but I REALLY fucking like this concept.  Pitch: Scanlan hits on Pike for literally six THOUSAND years and is still totally useless when she kisses him.

“So,” the snake said, smiling at the woman in the Garden.  Well, not smiling exactly, it was difficult to smile as a snake, but he was reliable informed that he was reasonably charismatic even as a reptile. He was a handsome snake, too, as snakes went, ink-black down his spine and red down his belly, with unusual eyes in a striking shade of slit-pupiled purple, and more than that he was convincing. He’d already convinced the woman all the way over to the Tree, where he was draped comfortably over the branches, and now he felt that the Tree could do most of the convincing itself.  He liked the woman, liked most of what he’d seen of humans so far, and he especially liked that they didn’t seem to have much in the way of impulse control when it came to things that looked delicious.  It made his job easy.  “It’s just an apple,” the snake said, with a slow blink of purple eyes.  “What’s the harm?”

The Angel of the Eastern Gate, newly assigned thus, recently removed from her post on Tree duty, was fidgeting.  Angels weren’t really supposed to fidget, and as a rule she was both a good angel and not a fidgeter, but she couldn’t seem to stop, spinning the hilt of her sword in her hand and blinking each time the flames whipped past the face of her corporation.  The humans stepped toward the Gate, the one that she would be expected to stand guard over—to keep them out, of course.  To drive the humans out of the safety of the Garden, into the wide and frightening world, alone and obviously scared, without even the dubious protection of a stick to fight off anything that might be interested in eating them, or a flint to keep them warm, or—or—or anything.

This thought did not advance much further before the angel found herself moving purposefully toward the Gate, so as to intercept Adam before he reached it.  The man flinched back, alarmed, and the angel managed not to titter hysterically—it was funny, really, her corporation was so much smaller than the man’s form, downright tiny in comparison, and here he was acting like she was about to smite him.

“Right,” the angel said briskly, forcing the hilt of the sword into his hand until he had to grab the thing or risk dropping it on his foot, divine fire and all.  “You’d better take this, I think you’ll be needing it more than I will.  There’s water to the west, that’s the way the sun sets.  Um.”  She glanced over at Eve.  “Congratulations,” she added.  “I’m told it’ll be a boy.  Now, get moving.”

Two hours later, there was a storm moving in over the horizon, and the angel was standing on the wall, squinting into the distance and trying to keep her long blonde hair out of her face, when the snake slithered up to join her.  One hand on her hair, the angel watched him change into a man with a suspicious frown, until he cocked his head at her, blinked a set of striking slit-pupiled purple eyes, and said, “You know, you could braid that.”

“Excuse me?”

“You could braid that,” he said, gesturing to her hair.  “To keep it under control.”  Then he blinked.  “You’re Pike, right?  The Guardian of the Gate?  Where’s your sword?”

                                                             ***

That was about six thousand years ago now, and now the snake—Scanlan—is getting drunk on the floor of Pike’s antique shop.  This is fair enough, really, because she’s getting drunk on her couch.

“Cute kid,” Scanlan says mournfully.  “Shame about the Apocalypse.”

“Yeah?” Pike asks.

“Little girl,” Scanlan says. “Lots of red—wha’d’ya call it. Hair.”

“Red is nice,” Pike says solemnly.  Her own hair is starting to come out of its braid, the crown she’s laced it into every day since—a long time ago, really.  She never bothers to use a miracle to keep it in place, letting it grow rumpled and wispy as she goes about her business, sometimes forgetting to take it out and rebraid it for days.  She knows this bothers Scanlan immensely, because Scanlan never goes anywhere without looking immaculately mussed, the kind of affected disorder that takes care and attention to achieve.  She’s careless with her hair for many reasons, mostly because she never got a taste for sleep and therefore often loses track of time, but bothering Scanlan is a bonus. 

Pike sighs and says, “Shame about the Apocalypse.”

“That’s what I said,” Scanlan half-whines.  “Think they’ll get you another sword?”

“Used to have a mace during the War,” Pike says wistfully.  “Liked it better.  Had a nice--” She makes a vague gesture and Scanlan starts snickering on the floor.

“A—a—a nice shaft,” he giggles.  “Or a nice—ha—a nice ball?”

“Yeah, sure,” Pike says with another heavy sigh, and drinks more wine.  Incredibly, a plan comes out of this.

Less incredibly, it is critically flawed.

In everyone’s defense, this as much the fault of Brother Tiberius at the Chattering Order as it is anyone else’s.

                                                             ***

While the wrong red-haired baby goes on with her life unaware of her newly self-appointed godparents, the right red-haired baby (the Antichrist, the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Princess of This World, Mother of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness) is being doted on by her new parents, who are very nice people, if a little odd, and who name her Keyleth.  Kiki, for short.

                                                             ***

Eventually, it’s Keyleth’s eleventh birthday, and the error comes to light rather quickly when the hellhound doesn’t show up at the wrong baby’s party.  Keyleth, however, gets a dog, a clever little dog all black and white, whom she dubs Minxie and who does everything that Keyleth says.  Keyleth’s three best friends are obediently impressed with the fact that Keyleth convinced her father to let her keep the dog, and Vex is especially pleased with the fact that Minxie, in addition to Vex’s enormous wolfhound Trinket and Percy’s family’s greyhound Orthax, brings their pack of hounds to three.  Vax is mostly pleased that Minxie is small enough to be sneaky.

The newly named hellhound looks away from her adoration of her mistress, considers the two entirely mortal, much larger dogs she’s expected to play with, and decides that she seems to have gotten the short end of the stick.  She was expecting something more...apocalyptic.  On the other hand, her new mistress manages to find a tennis ball, so maybe it’s not so bad.

                                                             ***

Down the street, Allura Vysoren, Professional Descendant and Witch, is trying to unravel her ancestor’s prophecies, and would very much like to know who the witchfinder she’s supposed to marry is.  In the city, Kima Vord has no idea that she’s supposed to marry a professional descendant at all, and she’s pretty sure that the man hiring her as a “witchfinder” is a bona fide lunatic.  Viktor certainly acts like one.  But also no one wants to hire a four-foot-ten woman as a bouncer, which is really what she’s good at, and she recently lost her fifth job in eight months, so.  Witchfinding it is.  At least it gets her out of the house.

                                                             ***

The world’s biggest, most cheerful delivery man is being given three packages and a message.  Grog likes his work.  He gets to travel to new places, meet new people, get in bar fights at new bars against those new people in those new places.  So, sure, he’ll deliver a sword and a crown and some scales.  He’s just happy to help, really.

[all-pacas]

okay but i for real have questions about nott and sex, if you'd bear with me-- d'you think that as veth she had a similar sex drive, or did being goblinified compact her healthy adult enjoyment of a nice hay-rolling into "propositioning minotaur you just met in the middle of the street"? &, this one's weirder but i'm serious- can she really have a size kink as a Small species (goblin or halfling)? ik it's funny to first hear but seeing it a lot feels kinda like 'haha, short' joke? which,, bruhs

i have honestly never put much thought into this. but to go by sam’s description of how being a goblin has heightened her emotions and feelings — i assume she always had a healthy sex drive and enjoyment of sex! and maybe it’s a bit more now — but maybe it’s also just a joke, the way she joked a lot about hooking up with yeza but later revealed they’d never done more than quick peck kisses. nott puts on a lot of bravado and bluster to hide vulnerability!

i think she’s always been a bit of a hopeless romantic, though. she loves playing wingman to jester and caleb, and she’s a big proponent of love and romance — just look at how she described first kisses to jester. “the softness of his lips?” that’s straight out of a romance novel. i can imagine her feelings of attraction to others and her crushes have gone up with being a goblin — she’d always enjoyed a good looking fellow, and now she really does.

i don’t think she really has a size kink, though. she seems to like a fit man in general, but she married a halfling. caleb, given her crush, is twice her size, but very little of what she’s said about him implies much sexual attraction — he’s handsome, sure, but he’s also smart and brave and kind and saved her. while she clearly is attracted to yeza, she also teases him about his looks, so it’s really not that that gets her going, as much as she jokes about it.

also, if being a halfling gives you a size kink? kima, allura, scanlan, everyone who has ever had a relationship with one of the smaller or larger races? pike’s crush on percy? i think it’s just not that unusual in this setting!

[bloodyshadow1]

honestly in the wedding oneshot I could see Keyleth getting hit on by at least 3 separate couples at the wedding.  I mean your best friend’s wedding is a semi-normal pick up spot for people, especially for the best man/maid of honor, which keyleth is probably going to be one of those so who knows.  Obviously she’s still going to be mourning Vax so none of these have the chance to have really, but her getting propositioned for a threesome isn’t the craziest idea in exandria, especially when you’re lonely in a romantic setting and booze is going to be flowing freely. 

Anyway low chance is Pike and Scanlan, if they’re together by this point.  Pike and Keyleth is sort of a one of my guilty pleasure ships and Scanlan is at least attracted to every member of vox machina.  If they’re still in the casual stage then a threesome with a friend they both might find attractive wouldnt’ seem crazy.

Medium chance Zahra and Kash, I mean honestly they’re really close to the group more than the other guests, I would be surprised if they didn’t show up at the wedding.  Kash was Keyleth’s first kiss and the awkward talks they had were sort of sweet.  Not to mention that one of the first conversations they have between themselves is how hot Keyleth is, just saying.  

Very low chance, Kima and Allura.  We all know that Keyleth had a bit of a rough patch with Kima, but after they moved passed that she’s really good friends with both of them.  Not to mention that their first encounter Kima was naked.  There are times when Keyleth seems sort of enamoured with Allura, she’s the one who helped get her out of the initial conclave depression she was in and the fact that Keyleth saved their lives with the scry and the nat 20 perception check kind of ties them all together.  Plus it would be funny to see Matt hit on his wife with two characters since he would be playing both NPC’s.  Plus Plus it would be funny for Matt to hit on his wife’s character with both his self insert NPC and the NPC that was sort of based around Marisha to flirt with his wife with both those characters, it would just be funny to see.  They seem pretty devoted to each other so I doubt it, but who knows

Now incredibly low odd chances would be Vex and Percy, and Bertram and Liev’tel.  Vex and Percy, well I mean Vexleth is my opt that never happened, but it’s also percy and vex’s wedding, even if it’s their second, so I doubt that that they’ll be willing to share the night with anyone else.  Even if they were, Percy loves Keyleth like a sister and would make things incredibly weird and Keyleth was all but married to Vex’s brother who died a year ago so yeah just not a good scene all around.  Bertram and Liev would be funny since neither know Keyleth that well and Liev is Liam’s character that he plays since Vax isn’t alive.  Also Keyleth seems to hate everything to do with the Raven Queen, so fucking his cleric wouldn’t be in her best interest 

Obviously none of these are going to happen, but a girl can dream, and I think it would be funny for Keyleth to be hit on by a bunch of drunk couples.  As long as it isn’t really bad like someone not taking a no for an answer I think it would be fine.  

[chaos-burst]

I was tagged by @aquarianconstellations to answer some questions about myself :) Thanks for tagging me! <3

Rules - Tag 9 people that you want to know better and answer the questions. Repost, don’t reblog. 

Relationship - Happily married to @formerlyknownas-delight <3

Colors - Green. Green and green. Also: Green. And purple.

Favorite ships - Ahahahaha :’D I’m a multishipping mess. My list of favorite ships is so long, I’d still be sitting here in two months if I tried to list them all. Let’s just go with some stuff that comes to mind and some CR ships :D Beau/Yasha, Beau/Jester, Molly/Caleb and Jester/Calianna are all very dear to my heart (the complete list is way longer). Then I’m currently on a Haikyuu!! trip, I’m in volleyball hell and cannot get up. Biggest achilles heel there is Kuroo/Tsukishima but again, I could list over 30 ships I’m really in love with. Other forever favorites are Korra/Asami (Legend of Korra), Eliot/Hardison/Parker (Leverage), Kirk/Spock (Star Trek), Kima/Allura (CR1), Magnus/Alex (Magnus Chase) and Luna/Ginny (Harry Potter).

Last song - The Family Crest - Battle Cry

Last movie - Captain Marvel

Last book - My wife is currently reading LotR to me and I think the last book I actually managed to finish myself was Wonder Woman by Leigh Bardugo.

Tagging 10 people - Uff. This is always so difficult and anxiety inducing, but here goes nothing:

@angel-ascending, @dathen, @kimabutch, @bardbarians, @throneoflaurels, @this-is-such-a-bad-decision, @yfere, @beaumauk, @anglophileslytherin and @night-filled-mountain

(No worries if you’re not in the mood or have no time or just don’t want to do it ^^” Also, anyone else who does want to do it, feel free to feel tagged :))

[pearwaldorf]

A repost of a list I made the last time I did a real deep dive into the Critical Role tag. I have included relevant spoiler warnings but they’re not meant to be comprehensive, so please tread accordingly. Asterisks by new additions.

Percy/Vex

Porny

hold me down, I wanna find out, by sabinelagrande Percy has some plans and not much else, but it’s enough for Vex to go on. It’s Percy/Vex femdom. That should probably be enough for you to figure out if you want to read it or not.

whatever you do (do it for me baby), by mischief7manager Percy finds something that belongs to Vex. After testing, he takes it upon himself to make some improvements. The Percy inventing the strap-on story we all knew was inevitable. This is Impressively Filthy in the best way.

under your moonlit gaze, by seimaisin Vex, Percy, the hot springs, and sex. With a brief interruption from Scanlan. Excellent PWP. Not kidding about the lack of plot. <3

I’ll show you how it’s done, by sabinelagrande Vex is a woman on a mission, and Percy had better hope he can keep up. Lovely bit of bondage and femdom. A++ need more of this.

Not porny

Serving Repentance, by CurrieBelle Set after Episode 40. Vex and Percy discussing their shared interests: trick shots, repressed feelings, poor timing, and ill-advised vengeance. This is a lovely little bit of connection between these two, and I like it a lot.

Inheritance, by CurrieBelle Set after episode 30. Vex asking Percy the question we were all thinking. The Percy voice is just so good in this.

Within the Words, by pagerunner While searching for clues that might help them on a mission, Vex encounters a book in a language she can’t read…and so she turns to the one ally who can. A lovely little moment of connection and discovery.

closer to the sky, by seimaisin Vex is a problem he’ll never be able to solve. A necessary conversation after The Sunken Tomb (episode 44).

The Hands-On Approach, by JettieBettie Vex has never given Percy’s hands much thought before; she is very much like everyone else, distracted by the white hair, apathetic aristocratic gaze, and quick witted intelligence. He certainly seemed the type when they first met, the kind of man with nothing but a callus on his finger from a quill pen. By now she knows better. Lovely bit of character study.

the myth of loneliness, by seimaisin “The wings were a big deal, huh?” “Yes and no,” she says. “I don’t know. Which is a very specific answer, I know.” A lovely little bit of connection in a lonely place.

I want to tell you but I don’t know how, by impossibletruths Such an easy phrase, he knows, small and simple and short, but it sticks in his throat. Besides––actions, they say, speak louder than words. Aww, this is sweet and lovely.

A Civilized Discussion, by curriebelle The one from Trinket’s POV. I love it so much.

Kima/Allura

oh and it aches (and it feels oddly good to hurt), by mischief7manager “They’ve been traveling together for three days now, and if that self-righteous, sanctimonious, supercilious paladin opens her mouth to spout about Bahamut’s glorious purpose one more time, Allura is going to cast Hold Person on her and dump her off a cliff.” Three times Kima saved Allura’s life, and one time Allura returned the favor.

Brighten My Northern Sky, by impossibletruths Cassandra keeps speaking, but Kima pays her no mind because standing at the window, tired and pale and dusty and here, alive, in Whitestone, is Allie. Aww, this is lovely and sweet.

Just promise me we’ll be alright, by impossibletruths In the space of a heartbeat, it all comes crashing down, and she makes her choice. Kima’s voice is so good in this; I love it so much.

we’re not broken, just bent (look, i’m still around), by mischief7manager Kima and Allura rekindle their relationship at Whitestone and find out what has changed, and what hasn’t. This is gorgeous and quiet and vulnerable. I love how Kima snaps and is uneasy, the way Allura blames herself for what happened.

Percy/Pike

Time is not on our side, by thevaliantdust Pike’s divine connection ends, and the waiting begins. Set after episode 59. This is some Quality Angst.

Until you set your old heart free, by impossibletruths In the aftermath of the tomb, Pike makes a discovery, and Percy remembers that not all healing is magic and mended bones. Quiet, lovely, comforting. (ep 44 spoilers)

Keyleth/Vax

i’m yours and that’s it, whatever, by mischief7manager (Keyleth/Vax) “Vax’ildan of Vox Machina asks Keyleth of the Air Ashari to marry him on a warm day in early spring. ‘Wait, what?’ she says.” Cultural misunderstandings surrounding marriage is my jam! Oh god it’s so stinking cute.

love is watching someone die, by nighimpossible (Raven Queen/Vax, Keyleth/Vax) Five dreams Vax'ildan has of the Raven Queen. Creepy and melancholy.

Other pairings/multi

Things in between the fractures and fissures, by impossibletruths (Keyleth/Kashaw) It’s fine, she tells herself. It’s an idle curiosity. It’s checking in on a friend. There is a question she needs to ask, but it is not the one she’s thinking of. Or, two weeks after the Tomb Incident, Keyleth and Kashaw have a chat. There is never enough Keyleth/Kash, and this is so lovely and well-characterized.

The dance, by valiantdust (Vax/Gilmore) Gilmore wakes in Vax’s arms. Yes, it is a Gilmore POV of That Scene. Because I love dying and being dead, I must spread this around. (episode 39 spoilers)

another dream, another love you’ll hold, by zornslemon (Cassandra/Kaylie) “Vox Machina is like that. They come into people’s lives, perform incredible acts of heroism, and then leave again, ignoring the people they leave behind.” Cassandra and Kaylie bond. This is so out of left field, and it works really well.

elements of desire, by notalwaysweak This is a series exploring the formation and negotiation of multiple pairings, from multiple POVs. It’s like a cozy polyamorous blanket.

What Are You?, by Sparxflame (not tagged but basically Percy/Orthax) “What is this?” asks the smoke, quietly. Percy swallows, on his knees, hanging in the endless dark of the void. He knows he’s dreaming, knows none of this is real – but none of that changes the fact he’s alone, and it’s dark, and the smoke is so thick around him that he can barely breathe. “It’s- my gun,” he says. The kinda fucked-up Percy gun kink story I didn’t know I wanted. 👌🏼

serve you well, by endquestionmark (Vax/Briarwoods) So: “Anything you need,” Vax says, and means it with all the fervency of someone with nothing left to barter. Legit the fic I was hoping somebody would write after Vax disappeared into the Briarwoods’ room. (dubcon warning)

Gen

Prowl, by resonant_aura Pike Trickfoot has been a healer for as long as she could remember. But she isn’t only a healer–and it would be beneficial for her enemies to remember that. Who doesn’t love a badass!Pike story? I like that this fills in some of what happens when she’s at the temple.

Simple Creed, by notalwaysweak Helping Pike out in the hospital is more gory than glorious. But Gilmore discovers it’s not without its own rewards. A lovely little character piece, illuminating both Pike and the effect she has on people. (episode 39 spoilers)

Gods and Champions, by earthquakegirl Following Ep. 48, Pike gets fed up with Vax avoiding her and decides it’s time they talk. I like how this digs into both their characters, and people’s perceptions of Pike.

we are not along in the dark with our demons, by TechnicalTragedy “How do you do it, Pike?” “Oh, it’s a constant fight. But us? We’re good at that.” I love how this digs into how much everybody looks up to Pike, and how important it is for the group, but especially Percy.

In Healing Healed, by icarus_unchained Set just at the end of Ep.52. Pike considers Percy, Vox Machina, light and darkness, healing and being healed. Pike’s perspective on what Percy does is absolutely lovely.

And we will stand beside and breathe in their new life, by impossibletruths Percy has lost siblings enough; he had thought himself free of the fear of losing a loved one. He never expected the bright-haired druid girl to crawl into his heart and stir up those long-buried memories. But then, Keyleth rarely does as expected. Or, six times Percy saw his siblings in Keyleth and one time Keyleth called him on it. I am super weak for Percy and Keyleth stories and this is such a good one.

Just the Endless Frozen Pines, by isyotm Keyleth is there long after everyone else is gone. She makes sure Whitestone is too. There may have been ugly crying while reading this.

Intertwined, by sabinelagrande The morning after doesn’t go quite like Percy expected. Technically Percy/Vex, but not really the focus of the story. Cackling.

tame the ghosts in my head, by lakilaes Vex is five when she starts keeping track of how much they spend. Oh this is just fucking heartbreaking.

Night Moves, by sabinelagrande Vax has an unexpected guest, and he would rather not know why. The one where Trinket gets sexiled.

Culpability, by CorvidFeathers After Vex’s brush with death, Percy and Cassandra have a conversation about judgment and guilt, and work out a few of the knots in the tangle of past regrets and mistakes that shadow them both. Why does this not have more kudos? This is complicated and real; probably the best Cassandra and Percy fic I’ve read. (episode 44 spoilers)

Of Edges and Survival, by Kayssna She cries the day she forgets her mother’s favorite perfume, and cries harder when she realizes she doesn’t remember her eldest brother’s face. A lovely little vignette.

It Might Sting a Little, by curriebelle Everyone in Vox Machina must have pierced ears so they can use the magic whisper earrings. Ergo, an ear piercing fic that turned into a Percy character study, because of course it did. It’s really interesting having a look at this Percy, who is so different from the one we see on the stream. Also he gets roughed up a tiny bit in a loving way.

Empires at Peace, by curriebelle Post Episode 38 - Gilmore reflecting on Vax’s decision. Oh god this hurts, and it’s so perfectly in character.

New beginnings, by thevaliantdust Gilmore and Sherri begin rebuilding their business in Whitestone This is so cute.

sugar, we’re goin’ down, by notalwaysweak “I’ve never dueled a dragon before.” How it all went down: the duel, and Emon’s walls too. The one where Gilmore is a badass and a hero, and Sherri is too. There may have been some crying. (The title is a nice touch.) (episode 39 spoilers)

A little help from my friends, by impossibletruths It all seems pretty simple to him. She knows, he doesn’t, she can teach him. Two plus two equals–– well, whatever. Point is, there’s nothing wrong with asking for a little help. Keyleth teaches Grog a thing or two about fighting. Delightful.

Garden-variety training, by charmedward It’s the middle of the afternoon when Grog finds Keyleth crying in the grounds of Greyskull Keep. A lovely bit of interaction between two characters we don’t see talking much together.

the light in me will guide you home, by notalwaysweak While Vox Machina roam Tal'Dorei gathering allies and power, a smaller group holds Whitestone together. A nice look at the bits we don’t see in the main narrative. (Chroma Conclave spoilers)

forget forgotten, by 1001cranes 5 Times Vax Was Not the Raven Queen’s Champion Proper drabbles, each a delightful tiny AU in itself.

* fifteen feet of pure white snow, by cinderfell Critical Role (post Chroma Conclave arc); Cassandra de Rolo When you’ve lived your life in a gilded cage, it’s hard to leave even once the door has been opened.

This is such a fantastic character study focusing on a fear that Cass would plausibly have, and it’s treated with such empathy and compassion.

AU

frost in the brambles, by vype There is a universe where Percival de Rolo was struck down by arrows instead. The one where Cass is the one Vox Machina finds. I love this so much.

Exandria NM, by sabinelagrande The series where Vox Machina works for the National Parks Service. Don’t laugh, it’s fucking great because it is so wonderfully specific and obviously written with insider knowledge. Tell Sabine how much you love it so she’ll write more.

Modern Keyleth/Kash coffeeshop AU omg it’s so stinkin’ cute.

* The Hero’s Petition, by NevillesGran Far in the northern reaches of Tal'Dorei, the city of Whitestone lies half-buried under snow and dark trees. They say monsters live there, now, ruled by worse. They say strangers are hunted and killed. They say to enter is death, particularly to enter the castle.They say sometimes, if you're very brave or very lucky, or merely very desperate, it may be worth the risk.

The dark Keyleth & Percy AU I didn’t know I wanted. Sequel here.

[shoppingandshipping]

Ugh, my writing slump just will not end, I’m back to looking through old partially-written fics trying to find the will to finish one of them. If you’d prefer one over the others let me know. Samples available upon request:

Kima and Allura’s story, from could-have-been-but-never-quite-was to it’s-complicated to married-and-forever. (Very little written of this one.)

Perc’ahlia marriage of convenience--when VM visits the twins’ father to ask for help against the Chroma Conclave he agrees to secure them aid on one condition: that Vex agrees to the political arranged marriage that had prompted the twins’ initial flight from Syngorn. Percy steps in and offers to be that match to provide a political tie to Whitestone and allow Vex to agree without really compromising anything. It all goes about as you’d expect. (Even less written of this one.)

Percy’s first love, a.k.a. young teenage!Percy falling in love with Whitestone. (Like. A couple of paragraphs written.)

“Don’t Be Such a Girl, Vex” a.k.a. “Oh My God I Think I Like You” a.k.a. Perc’ahlia fuckbuddies-to-feelings. Vex proposes a mutually beneficial arrangement to satisfy physical needs with no emotional complications. None at all. Also goes . . . about like you’d expect. (Two entire scenes written for this one! A record!

[toodrunktofindaurl]

dare i ask....what is critical role?

oh boy, okay, so THIS IS GONNA BE LONG, HEADS UP

Critical Role is a series on Twitch produced by Geek & Sundry where (famous) voice actors Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Taliesin Jaffe, Marisha Ray, Liam O’Brien, Ashley Johnson, Sam Riegel and Matthew Mercer play Dungeons & Dragons. Sometimes there are guests players and they are all always AMAZING.

They are all very close friends (some are spouses and married) and had this D&D campaign even before it started being broadcasted. Matthew is the Dungeon Master. Everyone is always in-character during the games, thanks to their talent, the voices and acting and RP is TOP NOTCH and you cry and laugh a lot.

The episodes can be up to 4 hours long sometimes, and there is 110 episodes so far (roughly the same length as a TV show with 7 seasons). It’s very intimidating, but you can also just listen to it and not watch them.. although (and i’m not even biased when I say that) watching Laura Bailey react to everything is like, one of the best thing about CR. Also the physical acting is sometimes important! The show is being uploaded in podcast form tho!

It’s broadcasted every Thursdays on Twitch, and then the episodes are added to Youtube on Mondays.

Who’s in the Party aka Vox Machina (some things will be left unsaid to avoid spoilers):

Vex’ahlia (Vex) played by Laura Bailey *harp music*

Half-Elf Ranger. Went from Neutral Good to Chaotic Neutral, and currently is Chaotic Good. Vax’s twin sister. She has a bear named Trinket whom she loves more than anything in the whole world (tie with Vax, probably). She winks a lot and flirts with everybody. SHE LOVES MONEY. A good person but sometimes does questionable things like lying and stealing. Self-worth issues. Lowkey bisexual, only kinda confirmed off-screen.

Vax’ildan (Vax) played by Liam O’Brien

Half-Elf Rogue. Chaotic Good. resident emo boy, but also a Soft Boy. Vex’s twin brother. Very emotional. A bit obsessed with Death. Depressed. Loves to prank Grog, and would die (literally) for his twin sister. Bros with Grog and Scanlan. Loves to braid hair. An actual bird. Canon bisexual.

Grog Strongjaw played by Travis Willingham

Goliath Barbarian. Chaotic Good or Chaotic Neutral? VERY TALL. Has an intelligence of 6. Pike’s best friend. Thinks water is poison (but not anymore, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT). The cutest murder machine. Fighting is like yoga for him. LOVES women and brothels. Also ale.

Pike Trickfoot played by Ashley Johnson

Gnome Cleric. Chaotic Good. The Mom friend. Grog’s best friend. Loves the goddess of Light and Healing, Sarenrae, whom she is a cleric of. She will swing her holy mace in your face if you threaten her friends. An actual angel?? Played by an actual angel? Plays only when she isn’t busy on the set of Blindspot.

Keyleth played by Marisha Ray

Half-Elf druid. Neutral Good. Percy’s best friend. Basically The Avatar. Most powerful member of the party. Vox Machina’s moral compass, she is 90% of their impulse control. Very wise but very socially awkward. (Spoilers) She jumped off a cliff, turned into a goldfish and died that one time. She’s okay tho. She loves the twins. She loves all of her friends tbh. Gets arrested a lot??. Scared about her future. Lowkey bisexual, kinda confirmed off-screen.

Lord Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III (Percy) played by Taliesin Jaffe

Human Gunslinger (Fighter). Neutral Good. Keyleth’s best friend. A little bit haunted. Obsessed with contracts and demons tbh. THE SMARTEST BOY. Build a lot of impressive stuff. Sometimes he makes jewelry for the party out of sea shells or dragon scales. Talks fancy. Loves explosions. Has PTSD.

Scanlan Shorthalt played by Sam Riegel

Gnome Bard. Neutral Good or Chaotic good? Unsure. Probably Chaotic Good. Bros with Vax and Grog. Really fancies Pike. A player. Has a lot of issues but hides behind humor. The funniest and most talented. Is often naked. Very loyal. A complex character. He doesn’t like Trinket. Canonically not Straight. Probably Pan??

Taryon Darrington (Tary) played by Sam Riegel (for a while)

Human Alchemist. Alignment?? He’s a good boy. A REAL DIVA. Rich. Super smart. Has an automaton named Doty who writes down his adventures. Vex’s best friend. Bros with Percy. His arc was brief but he started as a pompous brat and ended being a soft and loyal member. Scared easily. Loves being an adventurer. Canonically very gay.

Beloved NPCs, played by Matthew Mercer (but only some of them because Matt plays over 100+ NPCs)

SHAUN GILMORE. Human. The prettiest and (canonically) gayest shopkeeper in all the lands. Actually an incredibly powerful sorcerer. Had a crush on Vax and vice versa.

Allura Vysoren. Human. Very graceful and smart. Amazing arcanist (wizard). Vox Machina’s number one emergency contact tbh. She loves Kima, in a gay way. Canonically bisexual.

Lady Kima of Vord. Halfling Paladin. She serves the deity Bahamut, The Platinum Dragon. Small but will kick everyone’s ass.  Sassy. Will kill you if you prank her. Butch Icon. Loves Allura very much. Canonically very gay.

/!\ SPOILERY NPCs /!\ :

J’mon Sa Ord. Nonbinary. SO ELEGANT. Barefoot at all times. Kind of tired of Vox Machina’s shit, but is still fond of them nonetheless. Spoilers x1000: Actually a (good) Dragon. The coolest sovereign. I’m in love.

Cassandra De Rolo. Human. Percy’s sister. Is running a kingdom while her brother is out and about shooting at bad dragons. NEEDS A FUCKING NAP. LET HER SLEEP, MATT.

Characters came and went (Tiberius Stormwind played by Orion Acaba for example) and some guests come back more often than the others, but this is getting way too long so let’s stop here.

Honestly, CR is the best thing I’ve ever watched. I never laugh as much as I do in front of a TV as I do in front of CR. Same for surprise and tears and stress and everything a show can make you feel. It’s truly something else.

“What is Critical Role” video. A good and fun recap.

You can watch Critical Role HERE

Good luck!

[tanoraqui]

This is the last you’ll get of this AU for a while, I think. Until then...bonus points to whoever accurately guesses where/when Whitestone comes in!

[Prologue / 1 / 2 ]

Flashback to several hundred years ago:

Vex did not fall back onto her bed so much as fling herself delightedly, with the express purpose of bouncing. The famed elven bards of Rivendell had, this night, utterly failed to induce restfulness in their listeners.

“I shall be just like Luthien when I am older,” she announced. “Wham! Ha! Aaaa!” She punched the air, and sang a ringing note.

“And marry a human?” Vax, sitting calmly on his own bed, gasped in faux-horror. “Father would be furious.”

Vex rolled onto her elbows and grinned at him. “That is another benefit. You're growing so wise, brother.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. She propped one hand under her chin and continued.

“I do wonder if Men are more...energetic, than Elves. You'd think so, wouldn't you, with how little time they have? It's not just here - even back home, everyone is so dull. Slow. Not at all fun to-”

“Stop!” Vax put his hands over his ears. “I do NOT want to hear about you and...anybody, ever. Not in Mirkwood, not in this shitty house-”

Now it was Vex’s turn to stick out her tongue. But she abated her musing.

“Anyway,” said Vax, once it was safe to uncover his ears, “Tinuviel wasn't as badass as her father.”

“Thingol?” Vex’s voice could not have been fuller of scorn. “What did he do?”

Vax wobbled one hand in the air, palm up. “Banged a Man?” He lifted the other and shook it up and down firmly. “Banged a Maia.”

Vex replied, with that tone of almost genuine sympathy that only a sibling can truly achieve, “I really don't think Gilmore thinks of you the way you-”

A lesser being might not have caught the pillow, so quickly did Vax fling it at her face. But Vex’ahlia, daughter of Syldor, had come of age hunting beasts beneath the dangerous eaves of Mirkwood. Her reflexes were second to none.

“Shut up!” her brother shouted, already reaching for another pillow. “That's not what I- and anyway, no one knows whence- we were just talking, Vex’ahlia, it's not like-”

The rest of the scene was lost in quite a lot of torn cloth and flying feathers.

Even the great translator Professor Tolkien of Oxford University did not dwell, in his similar tale, on every detail discussed at the great council we now come upon. So nor shall I, overly much.

For some context, I should say first that Pike wakes after three days, and when she does, Gilmore has arrived at last, and they are delighted to see one another well. It had been a couple close calls: Gilmore had been attacked on Weathertop just a few days before Pike and her companions, by four of the Nine. As well as had some previous troubles of his own. And Pike, of course, had nearly passed away into wraithhood herself, the sliver of the Witch-Queen’s blade working its way steadily toward her heart for days. But Syldor Half-Elven* is a mighty healer, well-practiced in battling evil wounds of such type, though perhaps never so severe. But hobbits, as Gilmore has been saying for years, are surprisingly hardy folk.

The even dearer reunion is with Wilhand, who has been in Imladris for many years now. He earned his retirement in the Last Homely House with his own great deeds and adventures, if you will recall previous tales. There were several dwarves, and one dragon. He has gone a little deaf, now, and partakes a tad much of wine and sweetmeat—just think what the neighbors would say, he japes to Pike, once they are done hugging. After so many years of adventurous reputation, he’s acting like a respectable hobbit at last!

(This tale that I am telling now has fewer dwarves, and…well. We shall have to see about the matter of dragons.)

It is another couple days before Pike is well enough to see Grog, for he is camped out on the opposite shore of the now-quieted river. There is a limit to how far people will go to make good with unlikely allies, and that limit is an orc in Rivendell. Grog, frankly, agreed. The valley is too bright everywhere for his tastes. He has not been too alone: when Scanlan was not fretting at Pike’s bedside, he was across the ford, teaching Grog drinking songs from the Shire. With accompanying drink, of course. Minxie visited a time or two, and Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan more often. They brought much of the best drink.

First, however, the Council of Syldor. Dark times are come to Middle Earth, and so it is not just for Pike’s burden that people have assembled from near and far, seeking advice in trade for ill but urgent tidings.

From Uriel’s elven court of Mirkwood comes Allura, a lady and a scholar, to say that dark things are stirring once more in Dol Guldur. Not long did the fortress lay silent, after the cleansing dealt by the Wise back when Wilhand was out adventuring. Once more, spiders spin their webs, and orcs move and Black Riders have been sighted.

Lowbearer Vord, a dwarf of the Lonely Mountain, comes with his ward to bring similar news, and darker yet. War is brewing to the east, for the Lonely Mountain and Dale as well. Messengers have come in Vecna’s name to treat. They also ask after a hobbit, and a ring - “a trifle”, they say. Twice they have been rebuffed, but a third and final choice approaches…

Maryanne Darington of Minas Tirith arrived just this morning, with tale of a city beset and a dream most strange. For the latter, she seeks council; of the former, she speaks only with weariness and pride. Long has Gondor stood against the Enemy, and long shall it - she hopes. Osgiliath has fallen, and her brother’s dream spoke of Isildur’s Bane.

And what if that ring, that trifle, that doom of Elendil’s eldest son? That tale falls to Syldor, who was there for much of it - for times lost save in song and story, and the living memory of a very a few still on this earth.

I will not bore you with a retelling of those great events. The forging of the great rings, the betrayal of Sauron, the Last Alliance of Men and Elves… I’m sure you are likewise familiar with the parts of the tale that Gilmore fills in, of the finding of the One Ring by first one small person, and then another.

There, of course, the tale does a hop, skip, and a jump, as Wilhand tells his part - how he lost his party beneath the Misty Mountains and came across a small golden ring instead, as well as a young orc being strangled in the dark by a pale, slippery sort of being. This was the selfsame orc who had earlier tried to defend Wilhand against his own monstrous kin, so Wilhand sought to return the favor. Together, though it was not quite the tender-hearted hobbit’s plan, he and the orc killed the strange, frog-like beast, and tended each other’s wounds and escaped into the sunlight before parting ways.

That young orc, of course, was Grog, because orcs live as long as I, the storyteller, want them to live. He is very much not at this council - but while Pike was recovering, Gilmore and Minxie together got a story out of him, of wandering south and east, as countless of his kind were summoned over these last many years, and saw many terrible things and endured far, far worse, until the Great Eye knew the name “Trickfoot” and the race “hobbits”, and the land “Shire.”

(This, GIlmore tells with sympathy in his voice, and Wilhand takes and squeezes Pike’s hand as she shudders for their friend, remembering too well the Nine’s deathly cruelty. Because fuck you, Tolkien; even orcs don’t deserve that.)

Gilmore also speaks of his own recent captivity at the tower of Orthanc, at the hands of the wizard Curunir. (“Sauruman” in other tales, but in this world of Exandria, so enamoured was she of the name the elves gave her that she entreated its use by all, and they weren’t assholes so it stuck.)

So...the quest.

In the books, the moment is still, as they all stare at the Ring on the table in the center of the circle. This small, golden ring, which holds all their fates. In the films, there is shouting, discord already being sown by the power of the Ring. To guard it with the wisdom of Elves, or the strength of Men, or the strange, untouchable nature of Matthew Mercer, back in the Old Forest t the edge of the Shire, who would be First and Last? Or to take it, to use it, to overthrow the Enemy and win peace at last for Middle Earth? No, no--it must be destroyed, that is known. But how? And, moreover, who? Who could bear such a perilous quest, unspeakable temptation and greater peril, to the Fires of Mount Doom itself?

“I’ll do it.”

Pike’s voice rings clear, through silence or hubbub. She does not stand tall but she does stand forth, with her head high and her eyes alight. Her shaking hands curled into steady fists.

“I will take the Ring to Mordor. Though I do not know the way.”

[and now, for dramatic effect, I think I will follow the films]

“I have some knowledge of it,” says Gilmore, and comes to stand beside her, a tall and steady presence. “I will help you bear this burden, Pike Trickfoot, as long as I may.”

“And I.” Minxie - or Keyleth, perhaps, we ought call her - kneels to hobbit height. “Broken or not, my sword is yours.”

“And my axe!” Kima of the Iron Hills, the Lowbearer’s ward, jumps to her feet. She has been fidgeting since the council convened.

Allura shoots the dwarf a skeptical look, and steps forth as well. “Whatever aid the Kingdom of Mirkwood can give, or even just I myself, is yours, little one.”

“I think that’s our line, darling.”

Syldor scowls as Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan step from the shadows by the door. His children by a Silvan elf, now deceased, they are estranged, and had not been invited to this meeting. They came anyway, and now take matching places at Pike’s back.

“We’ve got you, Pickle,” says Vax, with a comforting hand on her shoulder. She smiles up at him.

“And me!”

Scanlan’s appearance from hiding is much less graceful. He falls out of a tree. But he picks himself up and scrambles to stand by Pike. “No way is Pike going to go destroy all evil without me.”

Syldor casts his eyes to the heavens, as if seeking salvation. Maryanne snickers for just a moment as she stands, before her sobriety returns. “If this is truly the will of the Council…” she says slowly, and puts a hand on the hilt of her sword. “Then Gondor will see it done.”

“Fine,” Syldor says with perhaps more force than necessary. But he, too, sobers as he surveys the group assembled before him. “The Enemy fields Nine Riders - so we shall send forth Nine Walkers. The Fellowship-”

“Actually,” Scanlan interrupts. “Mr. Elf Sir Guy. Sorry, but we’re ten.”

“What? No, you are-”

Scanlan Shorthalf, who knows his way around a story, crosses his arms and stares down Syldor Peredhil, son of Eärendil, of the line of Beren and Luthien. He says, confidently: “There’s no way Grog is gonna want to miss this.”

*A/N: This is the character swap-in I’m least comfortable with, because tbh Elrond deserves better, but I am assuaged by how much canon!Syldor would hate this title.

[kitweewoos]

Modern Vox Machina AU: Part 3

Part One | Part Two

Vaxi’ldan/Scanlan fic in this universe: For Keepsies

Vex’ahlia/Keyleth fic in this universe: Like Art

Pike/Percival fic in this universe: To Be Soft

Taryon wanted to do get his father's approval, which means he was willing to do what his father wanted him to do, which was getting a business degree and joining Howaardt in their (secretly failing) family business. He started out at school with that major, because he'd already disappointed his father by being gay and falling in love with the tutor he'd hired, but he was miserable for the first two years. He hated his classes except for one liberal arts class, something in theatre, and he discovers that he really just wanted to join a theatre troupe, and he changed his major because he deserves to be happy, and it helps that Vax and Vex commiserate with him about following your own dreams instead of those of your douche bag dad. He met back up with Lawrence in his senior year through tinder or grindr and they're grossly in love with each other. He and Vex are also grossly in platonic love, because they're both gay AF, and they have brunch dates where they do each other's hair and drink mimosas and gossip about the people on campus. He tinkers, and sometimes helps Percy blow shit up, much to Lawrence's chagrin. It's not that Lawrence is jealous, it's just that he really does not want one of Taryon's beautiful fingers to get blown off in the name of science.

Howaardt runs a franchise of businesses that is failing, and he owes a lot of money to a lot of shady characters. He wants Maryanne and Taryon to join the business in order to bring some youthful, ~millenial spirit to the stores. He had to sell a lot of their belongings in order to pay some bills, and has had a couple of their vacation homes repossessed by the bank. Unfortunately, Maryanne is going for a business degree in order to open up a competing, more in touch store of the same area, and Taryon has decided to become a theatre actor.  

Howaardt passes away from the stress of his business failing, and Maria takes over. She shuts down the stores, consolidates their assets, and pays off the shady people Howaardt owed money to. In her free time, she designs logos and advertisements for Maryanne's business model, and offers to sew Taryon's costumes for his small-time traveling theatre troupe.  

Sometimes people make jokes that Scanlan and Taryon are the same person, like one is the alter ego of the other, Batman v Bruce Wayne. No one knows why. It's an old inside joke that no one is sure of the origin anymore.

Pike has a mystery lover that she hasn't even told Grog about, but sometimes she sneaks away and then will return hours later or the next day beaming, looking very satisfied. Vox Machina have come to the joking conclusion that it's Scanlan, just because he once came onto her while drunk. He thought she looked like some kind of angel sent by Sarenrae, because he was plastered. He doesn't remember it. She still finds it endearing, but it isn't Scanlan.

Kima and Allura are faculty members of UEmon, married recently, who are honestly grossly in love. They tried hiding that they were in love for a while, but Kima was sick of not kissing her girlfriend, so she proposed in the middle of the quad during the middle of the day. Allura cried, and they got married that week by a court official, or Sovereign Uriel Tal'dorei himself. Allura is a council member for Emon and a close friend of the Sovereign, as well as a poly-sci professor. Kima teaches religious studies and also boxes at the same gym with Pike and Grog. She's a champion, heralded as one of the best fighters in the city. She also gets into barfights occasionally and Allura has to clean up her mess, but Allura loves watching her wife kicking drunken ass.

Gilmore runs the campus bookstore, as well as a consignment shop near campus. He's famous among the college students, whispers go around at the start of every year that if you need something, you go to Gilmore, Gilmore has got the goods you need. His consignment store is a legend around campus, the kind of place you have to visit once before you graduate UEmon. He's known for taking in baby gays from around Emon, especially if they've got family like Howaardt who abuse or mistreat them. He fell a little bit in love with Vax'ildan when he first entered the consignment shop, but he never did anything about it because Vax was too young, and then he was with Scanlan. He's still one of Vax's best friends, supportive and welcoming, but a little part of him aches whenever he sees Vax smile.  

Somehow, Vox Machina has become synonymous with home, though. Even when they fight, and bicker, and disagree, even when Scanlan and Percy are at each other's throats, even when Tiberius (they don't speak of their fallen friend anymore, it hurts too much) left, even when there's a general feeling of discomfort between members, this is where they all feel safest. This is their family now. They all have shitty backgrounds, unkind family, scars they'd rather not think about, and in each other, thanks to the University of Emon, they've made a home.

[lieutenant-satyrn]

We had a little shoot in our Kimallura cosplays! Our wonderful friend @casterlycosplay did a great job with the photos. 

I’m starting Kima’s armor tomorrow, and I’m very excited to get it done. I’ll be my favorite tiny tank 100%. I just want to say a big thank you to Matthew for the in game announcement that these two got married. It means so much to me, and my lovely girlfriend Jenny who cosplays Allura. As a queer couple, the announcement made us BEYOND overjoyed. They also just happen to be EXACTLY like Jenny and I. I am very much like Kima and Jen is very much like Allura in personality. They both mean so much to us. 

Anyway, I’m done ranting. Happy Pride Month everyone! Keep being gay as hell <3

Kima: Me (he/him pronouns)

Allura: Jenny @ceruleansiren19 on twitter (she/her pronouns)