#also he’s a smoke genasi so figuring out how to render that is Hard but I Will get there

[coffeecakecafe]

been trying to doodle out a new guy recently, he’s called Yancy and he’s got a lot of problems

[your-enby-antihero]

From the Earth, Of the Earth , To the Earth

Summary: |Major Spoiler for Campaign 3 Episode 77| Orym reacts to Ashton’s big decision and Ashton is reminded that they stayed.

Notes: A fic I wrote after directing watching cr3 e77. To be abundantly clear because I’m seeing all the shit people are saying and I want to be clear that I love the choice Taliesin made for Ashton. The big character swing was stressful but I’m so excited to see how it impacts the story. No one get weird I just wanted to write a scenario that came to my brain that is it do not read anymore into my opinion of the episode go find my post on my tumblr somewhere.

also available on ao3

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Orym watched, helpless as he saw the arm of one of his dearest friends crumble to the ground. What the fuck was he supposed to do, he tried pulling the harness off Ashton, even with his limited strength he had been able to get the harness off Ashton, but that did fuck all.

Orym watched as FCG and Fearne both pumped healing spell after healing spell into the crumbling body of an earth genasi that was losing parts of their body rapidly. Orym watched as Imogen tried desperately to hold Ashton together by any means. Orym watched as he could see Ashton in the most intense pain he had ever witnessed. Orym watched as Laudna pulled Chetney and Imogen back from where the fucking mayhem was happening. Orym watched as Ashton’s body exploded into tiny little pieces of stone only to be crushed back together by the explosion of a ring. Orym watched as Ashton steamed and reformed. Orym watched Fearne kick Ashton in the face and walk off, and part of him wanted to join her. 

But he didn’t. Instead Orym walked up to the now smoking body of Ashton. As they inspected his new arm, Orym walked up and slapped Ashton across the face. As hard as he could muster, Orym put everything he had into the slap. With the newly steaming rock body and what Orym could only describe as magma, he felt the burn on his palm as it went across Ashton’s face.

The impact sounded, an echo throughout the gigantic room, on the platform with as much historical significance as Orym can think of. He bites his lower lip, tears threatening to spill. Though they were not tears of relief or tears of sadness and grief, they were full of rage. Rage Orym had not felt since he had seen Otohan Thull put a knife into his chest on the streets of Basurus. The emotions swirled within his chest as he watch practically in slow motion as the force of his slap didn’t impact flesh but moved the stone of Ashton’s face in stiff movement. And as time rendered itself around Bells Hells Ashton smiled up at Orym. A wide almost manic smile, one that only they could muster after literally evading death. And they laughed, an ear piercing cackle roared out of Ashton as Orym stood in direct eye line with him.

As Ashton calmed and they finally met Orym gaze Orym yelled.

For the first time Bells Hells heard Orym truly direct anger at one of their own. 

“Ashton Greymoore what in the sweet fuck were you thinking!”

Ashton sat heaving in breath after breath looking directly at Orym, “Fearne didn’t want to take in the shard, I wasn’t going to let anyone have that hot shard shit put in them if they didn’t agree fully and wholeheartedly. I knew what could happen, she knew what could happen. And we need this, you know we need this, so what else were we supposed to do?” 

Orym leaned closer to Ashton, “you could have said something, we could have figured it out we could have done something else. We could have all been there from the start.  I know that she didn’t have to do this, she could have stopped you, she is one of the best, most capable and strong people I know but you still made her start this alone.  You made her take that all alone, she was the only one here for a second as she had to watch you rip yourself apart from the inside out. I know what you were thinking and I know that you thought that this would be for the best but you made her start it alone.”

“And you wouldn’t have argued about me doing this?” Ashton shouted, their voice horse from whatever was happening to their body, “Orym we don’t have the time to worry about me. The moon is fucking waking up  and the world is fucking ending and you fucking think that I couldn’t handle this?”

Orym finally raised his voice, “I know you could handle this, you are one of the strongest people I know. You care and love so deeply that you would take it all from us. But I can’t let you keep doing this Ash. I watched you burst into tiny flakes of rock and I couldn’t do shit about it. All I could do is sit here trying and hoping that Letters and Fearnie could keep you up longer enough for you to stay as one piece. So yeah I did think you could do it, but hell if I don’t think you're stupid for doing it.”

Chetney chimed in from the back, “yeah you dumb fuck the ancient ass tree of fate prophecy bullshit said that you’d literally die.”

Orym gestured pointedly to Chetney to emphasize the point. 

“Look I know we don’t have a lot of time, I know we all have to make sacrifices for the cause but please just let us know what is going on in your weird fucking head so that we can do it together. I need to be able to trust that you won’t be pulling this kind of thing on us when we get up to the moon. Because we care about you Ashton Greymoore and we need you here with us with or without power of two elementals, sure it’s cool that you have that now but I can’t watch you do that again. You can’t make everyone go through that again,” Orym sighed, his heart squeezing in his chest as he pleaded.

The tension of the room had gone down, the red hot rage in Orym had cooled slightly. Ashton’s eyes dropped, he knew that it was a gamble but he needed to protect them all. He had survived this time, he had been there with all the people he loved and he had survived. He could see why Orym was mad, he would be pissed too if someone else had pulled this bullshit.

“Fuck I know, I have to talk to Fearne and… fuck I need to talk with everyone else. I’m sorry for making you worry, can’t promise it won’t happen again but thanks for sticking around.”

Ashton’s earth arm was grabbed by Orym as he helped the now fire and earth genasi stand.

“Always,” Orym said, a small almost invisible smile, a comfort offered to Ashton, “always.”