#bodyguard!ashton

[zipzin]

ok still thinking about Imogen being a "lackey" of each of the hells and half the world thinks she's just there as "the help" instead of (maybe) the most powerful one of the group

Dorian and Chet have already established her as a servant and assistant in game

Orym - messenger, he probably tells his mom that Imogen's his messenger and she spreads it around and thinks how nice it is that the Tempest gave him money to hire one or something

Ashton - bodyguard, takes her to help him with the nobodies (like with the All-Minds Burn) or something to look into their brains to help figure out if they're lying/intent, and they think she's some magic mercenary he hired

Fearne - sister, Fearne (I think already has?) implied they're sisters or family and people (probably the fae) think that Fearne adopted this "helpless" human and takes her around to see Exandria

Laudna - someone dramatically confuses what Laudna means when she calls Imogen her tether or similar and thinks Imogen is there to keep her in check or alive

I'll be honest, no idea for Braius (or FCG rip) but I wouldn't put it past Sam to do something in game just to mess with Laura

[knuiui]

╮TWST Boys feat. "What's your perfume type? "

where celebrity!reader was stopped on the red carpet to answer the question "What's your perfume type?" — and twst boys reaction of it ♡

Heartslabyul | Savanaclaw | Octavinelle | Scarabia | Pomefiore |Ignihyde | Diasomnia | RSA +

╰ YOU ♡

congratulations! you're a celebrity, the most famous star in twisted wonderland! you have fans who're willing to kneel just for you. your fandom is known as the most dedicated and loyal to you ever since you began your career as an actress, some of them maybe high standing as well. it's quite hard being a magic less human dropped from another world but you could only make do with what you got, so you made use of your talent in order to become an actor!

walking down the red carpet you are stopped by a lady, you recognize her as a twistoker that does those "What's your perfume type?" thing with celebrities.

She approached you and smiled, "Hi Y/n! can I get a little of your time? " she enthusiastically asked, you smiled back and told her her outfit looked so pretty and said yes.

════ “ What's your perfume? ”

Burberry, HER

Carolina Herrera, GOOD GIRL

Dior, HYPNOTIC POISON

"now for the awaited question," you laugh at the suspense. "What's your perfume type?"

you giggle like a school girl thinking about a certain someone, specifically his smell.

you answered, "▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓"

╚ NRC STAFF ☆ (aka your dads)

╰ Dire Crowley

deadbeat crow dad. but seriously when you first arrived he did come off as careless and lazy especially since his always off somewhere instead of disciplining his students he still is. but after your rise as an actress he started to favor you more, and by that I mean giving you less duties than yuu only because you bring some fame to the school it's okay tho you can just casually snatch his credit card for some retail therapy.

════ “ What's his perfume? ”

Jean Paul Gautier, LE MALE PARFUM

╰ DIVUS CREWEL

he was not the step parent but he is the parent that STEPPED UP. your actual dad fr. he adopted you legally one week after you've been transported to twisted wonderland, you're name is officially part of his mother's family records 'The De Vil's'. absolutely adores that you're pursuing something you love and nurturing your talent, he bought you multiple screenplay scripts to practice for your first audition. honey, best believe your always that one celebrity that knows the dress code and IS the dress code at red carpet. all of them are vintage 'house of de vil' archival pieces of course ;) . girl dad fr

════ “ What's his perfume? ”

Dior, SUAVAGE

╰ MOZUS TREIN

old man. another girl dad that was blessed with three sons unfortunately. he was the one that actually noticed your skill in acting, he brought it up casually to crewel who was very ecstatic of your talent. wished he would've been the one to adopt you first. he prefers to be laid back in his support of you, choosing to watch your movies and shows in his home with his sons and lucius rather than attend multiple movie premiere his back needs some rest too.

════ “ What's his perfume? ”

Tom Ford, BLACK ORCHID

╰ ASHTON VARGAS

always been enthusiastic of you since your arrival at twisted wonderland. you're always his favorite even in classes, you get to only do five rings of broom riding then you can rest on the bench while the others perish. after you became an actress he always attends your movie premiere alongside sam, both cheer for you as you walk like the dads that they are. who needs tons of bodyguard if you have him? he's a one man army himself after all. definitely punched a guy that talked rudely about you on red carpet he got banned from that place. overall he's just a proud papa.

════ “ What's his perfume? ”

Ralph Lauren, POLO RED

╰ MR. SAM

another proud papa. cheers you up when you have no motivation on practicing for auditions. he's the only person aside from crewel that encouraged you to pursue acting. always is and always will be your biggest cheerleader. legit brings pom poms to the movie premieres you have just to cheer your name, he likes it when you laugh at his antics because he gets to see you genuinely smile. definitely burns sages to keep negative energies away from you on auditions. you always go to him because his good at cooperating and for the jellybeans he gives you after you complete a scene. definitely offered at one point to hex a hater of yours that is getting a little bit too open about their hate about you, you said no, doesn't stop him from carrying it on in secret tho.

════ “ What's his perfume? ”

Viktor & Rolf - GOOD FORTUNE (it's a women's perfume but he wears it because it was given by you.

Bonus..

╰ YUUKEN ENMA

was dropped on twisted wonderland alongside you. supported your acting career since the very moment you said you'll become an actress he's your number one fan. stayed behind to wait in NRC cause he's a guy ofc, often waits for you outside your audition buildings he likes to think he's one of those bfs that waits outside the rest room for their girlfriend to come back. you often bring him along on set if it's allowed and ppl often mistake him for a model or an athlete, he has a cameo in one of your movies too!

════ “ What's his perfume? ”

Hugo, BOSS

╰ GRIM

he's a bit stinky. since yk y'all met him in the fantastically ruined dorm of ramshackle after all. okay maybe not. but he definitely avoids bath to the point yuu has to chase him all around the campus. basically your stinky child that won't let go of your legs once you visit ramshackle. he insists you take him with you on set and you always refused, yuu only got to go that one time because grim was stuck on crewel's office as punishment for breaking 22 vials of potions. when you do come home, you often bring him some blueberry pancakes from this one bakery down the street from your set. guess his scent adapts to whatever he always eats.

════ “ What's his perfume? ”

Blueberry Pancakes

[pawthorn]

Guys, I think Liam and Taliesin are finally playing main campaign characters that understand each other, at least somewhat. In other campaigns, their characters definitely loved and respected each other, but there was always an element of “wow I don’t get you.”

Percy’s repression and brutal pragmatism vs Vax’s recklessness and compassion.

The weight of past trauma and guilt on Caleb vs the denial of the past and lack of regret with Molly.

Caduceus’ optimism and faith in oneself and the future vs Caleb’s struggle with hopelessness.

And I think until recent events, Ashton and Orym were there too.

Former indentured servant angry at the world vs former willing bodyguard trying his best to help others.

But then both Orym and Ashton helped keep the group focused when recovering Laudna. In Whitestone, Orym proved not to be overly trusting of authority. After Eshteros’ death, Ashton was willing to trust the powers that be, at least a little. We’ve seen that their outlooks aren’t as different as their approaches might indicate.

Then that conversation on the Silver Sun…

I was by myself. It's not great.

No, it’s not. Well, as a person who is professionally left behind, you're doing a really good job. You should maybe take care of yourself a little bit…

And

You have pain long enough, it just becomes background noise, anyway.

Yeah, I hear that…

Just, so many moments in that conversation, you could see little drops of realization fall.

Oh, they get it.

What it means to be taken in, adopted into a family.

To lose that family, and not know why.

To be left alone with pain and no purpose.

To have a family again, and be willing to do anything to protect it.

To continually carry pain, but keep moving on regardless.

What an interesting pair of characters these frontline fighters are.

I can’t wait to see more.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

👋👋👋

Ashton spends some of the summer between s2&3 in New York visiting Danny and his moms and is the first person to meet Pip (Danny's future boyfriend/life long best friend) and they bond over being 24/7 bodyguards for Danny when paparazzi won't leave him alone

Rhett is like a big brother to Emilia Harper Claremont-Diaz, they're so close, she's also the only person to figure out his crush on Alex (either he tells her or she just Knows™ but keeps his secret always)

Consider: Maximillian and Karina meet during his summer abroad (maybe she's the first vampire he meets after being turned and she helps him figure some shit out) and he is so confused when she suddenly shows up in Mystic Falls (but also, it's a nice ego boost when this cool hot girl shows up and ignores everyone except for him)

[tuskanini94]

I kind of want someone to write a mafia, imodna fanfic. Where Imogen is the butch mafia leader and Ashton, FCG, and Chetney is her muscle. Ormy is her drive/personal bodyguard. Fearne is Imogens' accountant, and they decided to meet at a new jazz club that opened up that Fearne recommended. This is where Imogen meets Laudna as the knew clubs singer/owner.

[mareastrorum]

Others have said this more eloquently, but it’s been eating at me that so many things feel late in C3. That’s such a strange feeling given that only about 3 months have passed in game. I think one of the issues may be that so much of the information the Hells want to find is incredibly niche. Who would know about XYZ and be willing to share it truthfully? How is that reconciled with the fact that more powerful and well connected people didn’t find out first?

But Matt already fixed that: each of the Hells is tied to plot-relevant stuff in their backgrounds. The actual problem is almost all of them resisted exploring it.

Laudna’s patron is Delilah Briarwood, the necromancer who helped a lich ascend to godhood and who personally knew Ludinus. Did Laudna ever meaningfully press for info on that? No. Laudna is not a curious person, and her view of power doesn’t lend itself to the idea that it needs to be understood to be wielded, so she doesn’t bother.

Ashton was a member of a cult obsessed with the power of primordials and returning to that origin. They turned him (an aasimar) into a titan of blood. Did he seek out more info about the Hishari once he realized he’d spoken to a former member? No. Ashton also has dunamancy glass in his brain. Did he ask questions of the Bright Queen, the oldest living and most devout worshipper of the Luxon? No. Ashton spoke once to Keyleth and Essek (each skeptics of their respective counterparts) and sought no further info. After all, Ashton prefers that sort of attitude to sincerity.

Fearne’s father had allied with Ludinus and intentionally sired her to be a Ruidusborn vessel for the Predathos-in-a-can plot. We only just got to her having a conversation with him last month when he had been searching for her the entire campaign. Honestly, I think Matt had been intending for this confrontation to happen sooner, but the Hells were too good at preventing the abductions that would have led to it. She also hesitated to approach him until he was turned into a tapestry. I wish the Hells had been more incompetent for a bit, just so we could have gotten that earlier.

FCG was an aeormaton revived by Devexian. Holy shit, what would D have known about Downfall, Dominox, or the Malleus Hammer? We’ll never know because FCG wanted to avoid seeing Devexian as much as possible. That’s not even getting into the comparisons between gods making mortals what they are (instead of endlessly reincarnating souls) and mortals making aeormatons with souls of their own while designing them to be controllable. And then D gave those he revived free will and left them alone—similar to the Matron’s reasoning of the last episode. That perspective would have been phenomenal 50+ episodes ago.

Orym personally knew Keyleth, but he didn’t want to bother her. Like, that’s it. He thought “I’m just a bodyguard” so hard that he delayed any interaction with her by several dozen episodes. Yeah, yeah, wizard hubris, but humility is a slog for pacing in D&D. Resisting the call isn’t just “I don’t wanna” it’s also “of course it couldn’t be me” and man did Orym commit to that.

Out of all the Hells, Imogen was the only one actively seeking out information about her background at all times, but she also struggled with whether she wanted to be a leader and what that meant (control versus direction). I think that was a good balance, and honestly, her arc is the only one that feels satisfying.

Chetney didn’t shun seeking info out, but it didn’t seem immediately relevant. It makes total sense that Travis wouldn’t presume it would have mattered. There’s only so much his background could offer given that he is not Ruidusborn, some kind of mage, nor meaningfully connected to a Big Bad. That said, once he dug in, we got good intel from the Gorgynei and Molaesmyr, both due to Chetney’s connections. Travis has also been a fantastic source of info with grim psychometry. But that’s also history, not personal connections, and so that feels a little removed from the story.

I adore that Braius has decided that he is here to do a job, and he’s going to do it, personal conflicts aside. He’s gonna kill Ludinus. Maybe for the Lord of the Hells, maybe for the Platinum Dragon—fuck it, maybe for the Moonweaver and the rest of his presentation is a prank. But he’s gonna do it, and that’s really the type of bullheadedness the Hells need. His crisis of faith also brings in a perspective that not liking one god doesn’t mean needing them to die. He’s just decided to fuck with them, and they decided to fuck with him right back. Here’s plate armor of truth to help you save the world, you lying sack of shit, enjoy.

Take this as a lesson: don’t make a character who lacks interest in the world or what happens to it. Even NPCs care about something, so this isn’t a “NPC party” problem. It’s like the cast looked at Percy (single-minded and meant to be unredeemable) and Molly (idiot who was going to resist the call and get the Big Bad chasing him down) and a majority decided to try one or the other. Which, like, that would have worked with one or two on the team, but not a majority.

I could rant forever about this, I think, but it’s not worth the time. This campaign highlights why I tend to prefer villain stories: they know what they want, and they work toward it. Characters like the Hells are just too spineless most of the time. Indecision isn’t entertaining; I only tolerate it because I expect consequences to follow, and that’s fun.

If there’s one thing I can expect from Matt, it’s consequences.

[fox-actually]

OC Obsessed! Whether they are mine or yours. But here is a lil' something on all of them! All characters based from Hogwarts Legacy are 18+. Taking a page from other creators to have a place where I can toss out HC's and lore I want to use in my writing.

Arianna Blackbriar: A pureblood Slytherin princess from the British Royal family and a witch. Bubbly, friendly, outgoing yet reserved in upper-class social settings. Bi-curious but prefes men, wants to be liked by everyone. Being forced by her family to be in an arranged marriage, but she is in love with her bodyguard. She wants to run away and do more with her life than family lineage. She loves fossils and sneaking out at night. Nicknames: Aria, Ari, Princess, Divine

Ashton Blackbriar: Separate AU from Aria and not related. A pureblood Slytherin prince from the Royal family and a wizard. Charismatic reserved, stoic, secretly wants everyone to like him. Bi, but prefers men in private, but with women in public due to his status and being forced into an arranged marriage. He wrestles being one way in public and another in private with the man he is in love with. He loves crystals and smoking weed. Nicknames: Ash, Handsome, Silverspoon(not in an endearing way)

Albion Hale: An orphan whose family was killed by werewolves around age 6. Covered in scars, he survived and found his way to Hogsmead, where the owner of Honeydukes adopted him. In a cruel twist of fate, he was turned into a werewolf, but his transformations were successfully and unknowingly suppressed by the mysterious professor. Carefree, easy-going, loves giving hugs, and almost always without a shirt. This Hufflepuff started Hogwarts in his 5th year and is a bit behind when it comes to his magical ability's, focusing on taking over his father's store and becoming a professional chef. He has found the love of his life and can't wait to spend the rest of his life with her. He took odd jobs as a bodyguard and is covered in tattoos. Nicknames: Al, poppa bear

Mason Bishop: 1 of 6 brothers and sisters, the youngest, this Gryffindor jock is nothing but a good time. Happy, cheeky, prank pulling, awesome Quidditch player, and overall sweet dork. Has mommy issues being the baby of the family. He will try and make anyone laugh, loves making new friends, and is over all a sweet guy and not your typical jock. New to love in all shapes and forms, his first real girlfriend is about to make him a man, already puppy sick in love with her; Mason will do anything to make her happy. He will try anything once and is a pretty good cook.

Tessa Davenport: A transfer from Australia, an Animagus, taking the form of a rare pink manta-ray. Sorted into Hufflepuff, she is a loud and feisty short woman. Super athletic, loves surfing, swimming, fire baton throwing/dancing. Her accent quickly caught the attention of her fellow classmates. With two older brothers, she grew up a tom-boy who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty but always cleans up nicely for events. Still getting used to her new surroundings, she has developed strong feelings for another transfer student, and he seems to return those affections.

The Professor-Darien Steele: This Gryffindor alumni has mysteriously returned the night Albion Hale was "bitten" by a werewolf. Experimenting on Al to suppress his transformations. Darien is master at potions, transfiguration, and deception. His only reason to return to Hogwarts is to research the rare power known as ancient magic, experiment on students with magic and alchemy. He has learned many secrets and keeps them in his back pocket for a rainy day of blackmail. He seems to be everywhere and gives off a charming eerie vibe. Every time you see him, he always physically looks a bit different or has become an entirely new person. Wonder why that is?

[hello-eeveev]

Okay okay I’ve seen some takes regarding Orym on twitter (specifically about his relationship to Laudna) that I feel the need to refute but I have a lot of thoughts and also I don’t want to get into fights so hi tumblr! rant below the cut 😊

(tl;dr I think the bell’s hells are doing the best they can in a series of complicated situations, but people are expecting a kind of inter-party conflict to come from it that doesn’t line up with the text and I don’t get it, so I guess I must become Orym’s #1 defender, feat. a defense of the c3e63 decision, Ludinus Da’leth hate, and big big feelings about Keyleth and Vax)

Take: Orym is uncomfortable with Laudna’s weirdness/creepiness, as evidenced by him always bringing it up and trying to hide and obscure her undead presence.

My opinion: Laudna loves the fact that she’s creepy. She revels in it. Orym/Liam pointing it out in narration is part flavor text, part acknowledging an important aspect of Laudna. It’s like how he always makes sure everyone knows that Orym is Small. Not to mention, Marisha brings it up in her narration as much as Liam does.

During Laudna’s resurrection ritual, Orym says, “I don’t know what Bell’s Hells will be without your darkness, Laudna. Or your light.” He values both sides of her!

Regarding Orym’s disguises for Laudna (i.e. dressing her in white in bassuras, adding flowers to her hair to give her more color in hearthdell), again I don’t think this is a sign of Orym’s discomfort with her. Remember, Orym is a bodyguard. His job is to protect others, protect the group. Yes, several members of Bell’s Hells will draw eyes, but notably, Laudna—being undead-ish, with the Unsettling Presence feature and a canonically scary physical appearance—might strike fear into others. And fear makes people more willing to resort to violence than, say, being surprised by the presence of a robot or a faun. It’s not about making her palatable, it’s about keeping all of them safe. It’s bodyguard behavior.

Also, Orym only does this when they are actively avoiding drawing attention to themselves, and as far as I know, Laudna has only had a problem with it once.

Take: Laudna looked to Ashton and Orym for what to do during the scuffle with Bor’Dor, and Orym encouraged her to let Delilah back in, all because he’s hell-bent on revenge and thinks he can use Delilah’s power to get it. He actively disregarded Laudna’s well-being to further his own goals.

My opinion: No, she wasn’t looking to them for what to do. Marisha said it herself: Laudna was barely present. She couldn’t even hear Deni$e suggest keeping Bor’Dor alive; what makes you think she’s going to see a singular nod from Orym 15 feet away? She had already done Hunger of the Shadow, was already cloaked in the “purple-ish glowing hue that hasn’t been seen in a while,” and Matt had mentioned the heartbeat long before Liam ever said anything. Laudna had already let Delilah back in before Orym nodded and before she killed Bor’Dor. It was a horrible situation all around, but Orym did not convince Laudna to let Delilah back in for his own purposes. It is not his fault that Laudna embraced Delilah’s power or that Bor’Dor died. Laudna made her choice, as heartbreaking and conflicting as it may be, so let her live with it.

And for the record, I think they were justified in killing Bor’Dor. He attacked them with a pretty powerful spell (he did Vitriolic Sphere at its baseline 4th level, which is the second highest level spell he had) and nearly killed Prism in the process. Yes, Bor’Dor did a bit of waffling back and forth between “I’m gonna kill you!” and “just let me die,” but him being a pathetic mess is nothing new. He still tried to kill them all. If they let him live, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t try it again.

I don’t know how to impress this upon people who haven’t already gotten it from just watching the show, but the Ruby Vanguard is a bad group. Ludinus Da’leth is a bad person. He may have convinced some members that his goals are noble, but they aren’t. He is misleading people for his own gain, because guess what? The concept of free will exists even with the existence of the gods! People are allowed to worship them or not, and the gods aren’t smiting people down for refusing to worship them (otherwise Keyleth would be long dead, y’all. she said out loud to the champion of the raven queen that they should use her power while it benefitted them and then find a loophole to get Vax out of her service. and she is so valid for that. 15/10 would do the same).

We had a PC, a dozen or so NPCs, and an entire arc last campaign—and then a whole 4-part series!—that dealt with wizard hubris and its unfortunate consequences. Ludinus was one of those NPCs! What makes you think that Mr. “let’s steal a holy artifact and instigate a war” “should try friends sometime” “Essek looks forward to never seeing his face again” “Trent Ikithon can keep abusing children it’s not my problem” Da’leth suddenly has people’s best interests in mind?

He and the Ruby Vanguard need to be stopped, and Orym, being a person whose driving motivation is “to protect,” is willing to do what needs to be done, even when it sucks.

Take: ooohoohoo Orym’s alignment might be shifting! We need Dorian to get him back on track!

My opinion: No? To both these statements? Firstly, Orym’s alignment isn’t shifting, at least I don’t think so. I’m not an expert on D&D alignments (I think they should be more descriptive than prescriptive/ultimately they matter less than character choices, arcs, and narratives), but I would guess that fighting to maintain the balance of nature and to stop those that would harm others for their own gain is still pretty in line with neutral good? I could maybe see an argument for that being more lawful good, but it didn’t seem like those people were talking about a shift along the horizontal axis.

Secondly, I think Dorian would do the exact same thing Orym is doing. Was that not the whole draw of the Spider Queen’s crown during ExU Prime? Power to protect and save his friends? So I don’t think Dorian would see anything wrong with how Orym is acting, much less take him to task over it.

Take: Look! Orym told Keyleth about Imogen’s mom and said “I don’t care” when Imogen complained! Bad! Mean! Selfish!

My opinion: idk that felt more like Liam being a brat to Laura than anything else.

Like, yes Liam/Orym had his own goals in that convo which were unexpected and uncomfortable, but I don’t think he was wrong to point that out. The moment Keyleth swore to take down Liliana, you could feel everyone in Bell’s Hells get really tense, and I am certain that Keyleth, who has 20 wisdom and ~30 years of experience leading her people and politicking, clocked that instantly. And Orym would have clocked that immediately, and in an effort to make sure that their group had the confidence of a very powerful druid and world leader, decided that full transparency was the way to go.

And I don’t know, this is largely speculation, but Keyleth having that information might mean that she will make sure Imogen doesn’t have to be the one to take down Liliana? Or it might make her more sympathetic and willing to show some mercy to her?

Leaning more fully into speculation bc this relies mostly on inference and assumption: while I do think that Keyleth deserves to know what’s going on with Vax, withholding that information at this juncture might have been another tactical decision from Orym. We don’t know how Keyleth has mourned over the last 30 years, but we know that she’s been angry and we know that losing Vax was and is devastating. I feel like finding out that the love of your life (“forever and ever and ever and always” “I’ll never get over you”) is suffering extreme torment such that the followers of his god are in a period of mourning, basically implying that you’ve lost him all over again, that potentially the one reassurance that you would see him again has been ripped from you, etc., etc. would cause anyone to break down on a good day. Add on the fact that Keyleth is gravely, gravely injured, and you’re basically asking for her to be completely out of commission, because 1) holy moly talk about new trauma, old trauma, grief, longing, guilt, etc. bro I’m an emotional wreck just thinking about Vax and I’m not the one living through it, and 2) that would be a lot of stress on her already extremely stressed body, the consequences of which could be very bad.

It’s a tough decision to make, and while I’m not sure I 100% agree with Orym’s, I think it’s a defensible position.

Anyway thanks for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed my analysis. Again, I don’t want to fight or get into arguments, but I’m down for some brief discussions! Emphasis on brief because I can fall into a rabbit hole very easily, which means this will be the only thing I can think of and I have other things I want to do, shadowgast to write, fearnechetney to draw, and this post already took several hours over two days to write after weeks of mental build up.

[its-your-mind]

I keep being smacked in the face by the fact that despite their eccentricities and knack for sticking out of a crowd, each and every one of the Hells is a footnote of someone else’s story. Laudna, the effigy raised to threaten a returning Lord. Orym, the bodyguard and widower of an attack on his leader. Fearne, left by her parents as they left on their grand quest. FCG, a tool-turned-artifact of a long-dead civilization. Chetney, the ex-employee of a toy maker, now newly turned werewolf. Ashton, orphaned at a young age by a grand ritual gone horribly wrong. Even Imogen, who has a whole lot of Main Character Energy, was left behind by her mother as she went off on her own journey of discovery, and is only now on this path because she was chosen as a tool for a god-killer.

In so many stories, they would be the NPCs who are just there to fill in the world. They have no divine order, no greater purpose, no one standing behind them to direct their actions. None of them have a throne or a kingdom or any other kind of pre-ordained destiny waiting for them. No one is going to recognize them in a crowd, beyond taking note of their odd appearances. These are all profoundly average people, and yet they have chosen to grab and harness that which sets them apart. They are choosing to continue on this path to protect the world because it is the right thing to do, and dammit, it doesn’t look like there’s going to be anyone else more important and powerful who’s going to step it.

[meremere21]

I’m really excited to find out who the guest players for the Laudna, Orym, and Ashton trio are!! (Also, really good idea of Matt to put Laudna with the two heavy hitter bodyguards when he split the party, because while she’s no longer quite paper [in fact she’s got more HP than Imogen and Fearne]…she still definitely needs the protection lol)

Anybody have any guesses on who they will be? I’m definitely hoping for Brennan Lee Mulligan and/or Lou Wilson! Also it would be /very/ fun if this is when we experience the return of Erika Ishii and Yu Saffiad!

[rysn-ftori]

Orym, Laudna, Ashton team is basically Laudna and her two bodyguards. Orym is always about protecting the squishiest and Ashton is always about protecting Laudna. I can’t wait to see them in combat.

[inconmess]

Also... There's just so much potential in the Orym and Ashton interactions if they really dig deeply into Ashton's backstory and he has undiscovered ties to the Ashari. Because after all Ashton is used to seeing people as inherently selfish. Everything is about the barter system in his eyes. They've always thought that they need a few favors in their back pocket for trade to assure Orym will be willing to help them?

But Orym once he realizes? Is not going to care about favors in the slightest. This i his eyes is likely to be a KIN THING.... Debts no longer apply.

And that will serious mess with Ashton's HEAD.

(And I need all of this!)

Oh yes, indeed! Here's how I see it going down... It will start from the conversation between the two on Ashton's heritage (after a long push from Laudna's part because of course Ashton is hesitant to bother Orym right now as he is grieving)

And like you've mentioned (as have others), Orym just clings to the chance of helping Ashton, trying to be respectfully distant enough that he doesn't make Ashton uncomfortable (still does make them uncomfortable cuz they arent used to people helping them without consequences)

They stumble onto more information about the past and bam! Orym fucking latches onto it like the nerd he is while listening to Ashton trying to piece their life together until the dots join and he's kinda hesitant to tell Ashton about the Ashari thing initially because he thinks Ash would leave after knowing, given previous conversations but then the father pops up (at least my HC is that they have a common father) and that shit will mess with Orym's head even harder because he is already bodyguard overprotective of Ashton now he will be double feral.

Ashton will be so confused as to why Orym cares so much about his past and wants to get this involved in his life when they can give Orym nothing in return and Orym is asking for nothing in return.

And the dad part just... make him realise Orym's behaviour and doubly make him also OP of Orym and they both annoy the shit out of the overprotective behaviours and-

Sorry went off on a tangent. Ashton still expects this to be a favour exchange and is so put off when Orym declares they are family and there's no favours involved because they are used to family owing favours... Barter is still wrestling with familial love, causing Ashton to be at dissonance because the two people they travel with, don't barter for SHIT. And they are annoyed about that.

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

"The" Fic Titles Masterlist

The Bass Player (ao3) - boomercal calum/ashton E, 69k

Summary: It’s his first big tour with his relatively newly joined band, opening for his favourite band in highschool. So what if he’s always found the drummer hot, nothing’s going to come of it, and it would unprofessional if something did happen.

The Best Autumn Ever (ao3) - merlypops michael/luke, calum/ashton T, 19k

Summary: Luke and Michael are too scared to admit that they like each other, Calum and Ashton want them to get their shit together (and are also dating), and the four of them have the best autumn ever.

The Best Thing (the way it’s supposed to be) (ao3) - gravityinglass michael/calum M, 87k

Summary: Or, the story of how 5 Seconds of Summer became a band (starting from the beginning) and how Michael Clifford realized he’d always been in love with Calum Hood (not starting from the beginning, not even close), and how taking on the world turned out to be less daunting than it seemed.

The Bodyguard (ao3) - iCheeseYou (EHkook) luke/ashton, michael/calum M, 138k

Summary: Ashton Irwin is a hot and famous celebrity that all the people love, look up to, or despise. He’s cocky, selfish, and always puts himself before others. Despite his personality, he’s pretty much wanted by everyone in the world.

But when things escalate to the point that Ashton nearly gets kidnapped, his manager assigns a boy named Luke Hemmings to become Ashton’s personal bodyguard, much to the star’s reluctance and annoyance.

Now Luke follows Ashton wherever he goes to make sure he’s safe from any danger, but Ashton is determined to get rid of his bodyguard as soon as possible.

The Day the World Ended (ao3) - insomniacwriter17 ot4 T, 10k

Summary: “Reports state that people are experiencing incredibly high fevers, intense pain all over the body, and a state of delirium. Government officials have issued a warning: if you feel ill, seek medical attention immediately. If you do not feel ill, stay inside if at all possible and make sure to wash your hands often.”

The Demon In My Nightmares (ao3) - Shirosaki michael/luke N/R, 15k

Summary: A tear streams down Luke’s cheek as he remembers his nightmare. “He’s not real.” Luke tells himself quietly as he looks down at his bed sheets, shaking. “He’s not real, calm down Luke.” He hears a dark chuckle from the corner of his room, causing the blonde to freeze. His eyes widen as he hears footsteps coming toward him. “Y-you’re not real.” Luke says shakily. A low laugh comes in response. The blonde closes his eyes tightly, and then reopening them, waiting for the person in the corner of his room to disappear.

In other words, Luke is having nightmares with a demon named Michael in them.

the flatmate arrangement (ao3) - kaleidoscopeminds luke/calum T, 20k

Summary: Hi Calum/Poor Struggling Paralegal,   So I’ll be upfront with you. It’s a one-bed flat. I also live here. HOWEVER before you delete this and think I’m a freak, I work nights so I wouldn’t be here anytime you would be. You can have the flat exclusively from 6 pm to 8 am, Saturday night and all day Sunday. Understand this sounds like a bit of a crazy arrangement but I could do with the cash, let me know what you think?

Luke Hemmings (Poor Struggling Children’s Nurse)

A 'The Flatshare’ AU

the four times jack thought and the one time he knew (ao3) - prettyluke (parting_ways) luke/ashton E, 7k

Summary: Also the four times Jack sees something he shouldn’t and the one time Luke decides he should probably come out of the closet.

the hues of me and you (ao3) - Calumthoodshands (tndart) luke/calum T, 25k

Summary: “And you’re not… doing this to get a date after all?” he asked after a moment, chewing on his lower lip. If he didn’t make sure of it now, he never would, and if there was one thing he most definitely didn’t need, it was his own love life interfering with his bachelor’s. No, thank you. Luke exhaled almost unnoticeably, but he smiled at Calum, a little lopsided, a little mischievous. “No, I’m not. You know, if you want, we’ll just make a pact. No falling for the other allowed, as long as we’re working on the project. No feelings and no dates. Nothing’s gonna happen, and we can both move on, and you’ll get your bachelor’s and we can live happily ever after. How’s that sound?”

the kids will be alright, eventually (ao3) - wafflelashton luke/ashton, ashton/ofc T, 45k

Summary: ashton falls in love with his best friend, luke, and is somehow the last to know.

The Monster Mash, It Was a Graveyard Smash (ao3) - FayeHunter luke/ashton T, 8k

Summary: Luke keeps running into the same guy while he’s out shopping for Halloween. The guy is very involved in Luke’s plans.

the only thing that I ask, love me mercilessly (ao3) - orphan_account michael/ashton E, 6k

Summary: Ashton knew he shouldn’t be jealous.

He shouldn’t, because he knew what Michael was doing and what he’s after and after last time Ashton had told himself that he wouldn’t let Michael do this to him again, but.

But he was jealous, is the thing.

or, alternatively, Michael gets wrecked in Bali.

The Panty-Dropper (ao3) - Honeyedlashton luke/ashton E, 5k

Summary: Ashton’s discovered an old recipe from Luke’s recipe box, and decided to cash in on an anniversary prize.

The Scale’s Not Fit For Advice (ao3) - Zoe13 michael/luke N/R, 6k

Summary: He feels too much. There are too many ways to describe it, and not just one word will ever be able to summarize how he feels.

He feels messed up, that’s what he feels.

The Setup (ao3) - nicockla luke/ashton E, 40k

Summary: ❝The one where Calum has the best intentions setting Luke and Ashton up except someone should have told Ashton he was being set up and that he’s gay❞

the situation is like a mountain that’s been weighing on my conscience - @sup3rbloom (haveufoundwhaturlookingfor) luke/ashton, michael/calum T, 2k

Summary: Luke is closeted and nobody outside of the band, and close family, knows that he has a secret husband. During promo for Youngblood, Luke suffers a panic attack when the interviewer asks a personal question. Cue, Ashton to the rescue and comfort.

the skies falling down (end of the world) @sup3rbloom (haveufoundwhaturlookingfor) luke/ashton, michael/calum T, 4k

Summary: Luke is severely hurt, and Ashton is desperate to find something to heal his best friend. He's on the brink of giving up when he meets Michael and Calum, who happen to be from a community that has medical supplies.

The Sun Is Burning Down Los Angeles (ao3) - galacticsugar Luke/Calum M, 40k

Summary: Calum probably signed a form saying he wouldn’t fall in love with the lead singer of the band. And he really doesn’t want to. What a cliché. It’s just…people get famous for a reason. This guy got famous for all the reasons.

***

Calum moves to LA to work for 5SOS.

the surprise ending i’m depending on (ao3) - diets0dasociety michael/calum, luke/ashton T, 15k

Summary: It seems the most obvious escape route: that he’s panicking over nothing and three years has a peculiar way of tweaking certain memories and it’s completely understandable that he’d see a similar phrase and make a connection in his head. It’s probably nothing, probably just another high-profile event he’ll get pleasantly tipsy whilst attending and forget about within a few weeks, once the hangover’s disappeared and unwanted texts from random numbers he’s obtained throughout the night stop filtering in.

And yet.

or, Calum receives an invitation that opens up a window to his past.

The Way I See It (ao3) - pilotmikey michael/luke T, 58k

Summary: Michael and Luke become friends while working on an English project. Feelings are involved.

[thisisnotthenerd]

anyway back to bells hells in the regency au:

laudna was born matilda bradbury, the only daughter of the bradbury family who stood to inherit a barony at the outskirts of whitestone. accused of trying to usurp the briarwoods as one of the only nobles who didn’t fall under their sway, basically atticwifed for it. pale skin and wide eyes from being locked up for years. i imagine that the atticwifing happened when she was like 20, and she’s not fed well/treated well in any way, so this affects the way she looks--slight, tall, a little more bones than flesh, even as she retains an aristocratic face and affect. 

after the debacle is settled, she keeps to herself on her land in a little cottage, taking elaborate commissions as a seamstress. ooh maybe she’s the one to dress the de rolos. anyway, she’s viewed as a spinster basically, but if anyone marries her they potentially gain a foothold into whitestone, which is otherwise fully under the de rolos by the time she can inherit her family lands. after some time she decides to travel to marquet to get away from the site of her trauma and leave the stigma of her experiences behind. starts her own little atelier of Tal’dorei-based fashion in jrusar, basically running it out of zhudanna’s house.

orym is still a bodyguard of the tempest blades and serves the Voice, the queen keyleth of the air ashari before the death of his husband will. this functions as his military accomplishments--he personally protected the queen from assassination. in his downtime he makes friends with the rest of bells hells. it’s interesting to think about, but potentially with the structure of this au he would know laudna peripherally before he meets the crown keepers, especially if she was the one to make keyleth’s wedding dress for her and vax’s wedding.

fearne was raised by nana morri to the calloway family. maybe she’s a countess or something in the ashari territory. both she and dorian (would have debuted as bronte but ended up leaving his family and becoming an independent musician and composer working up to scanlan’s scale) ‘debut’ for the queen keyleth around the same time and that’s how they meet orym. actually maybe that’s how the crown keepers meet--a year pre bell’s hells season, opal, fearne, and dorian are being presented to the queen keyleth, while dariax (and deni$e) and orym all work in and around the ashari kingdom. it’s actually funny as hell to think about orym going with fearne and dorian on an ambassadorial trip to marquet and coming back to deni$e being like i don’t know where dariax is but when i find him i will kill him,

ashton is raised on the streets, finds out they’re titled and is awkwardly shunted into a debut season after years spent robbing people blind. no one knows what to do with him. he hates the stifling, repressed, privileged nature of high society. maybe fcg is a steward or something in dancer’s household who tracks genealogies, finds out about this, and tracks ashton down after everyone in dancer’s household dies. how? i don’t know yet. we’ll find out. anyway it’s basically just the two of them and milo, who was patching ashton up after their final heist.

bertrand served in the military with percy, plays up the connection to vm all the time but basically is just an older man reliving his glory days. no kids, so he’s buried in the whitestone graveyard after bh show up at his deathbed. maybe he sponsors them in the marquesian court in conjunction with eshteross in this au.

chetney runs a wood carving workshop and does custom commissions for a lot of marquesian nobles. i guess this would be the mahaan houses if they’re primarily in jrusar. also peripherally knows laudna since they’re running their businesses in a similar circle. i’m imagining her commissioning him for little wood button details and other such trinkets that go along with dresses.

imogen is set to inherit a barony in the taloned highlands that she doesn’t really want--she goes to jrusar to find out about her long lost mother, which is how she ties into ludinus’ nonsense. i imagine she makes arrangements to stay at zhudanna’s, which is how she meets laudna. full on soft infatuation from the start, and as they live together for awhile they both fall in love.

[saigontimemd]

Thoughts After C3E107

I think I'm getting irritated with Campaign 3. It took me a while to figure out why, but after the conversation with the Archheart, I think I've got an answer.

It's the huge mismatch between the story the DM wants to tell and what the characters of the party are capable of as people. I don't mean combat-wise, I mean personality-wise.

The narrative issue - what to do about Predathos, what to do about the Weavemind's forces, etc. - is one that requires characters to make a commitment to a course of action that takes all factors into account, and Bell's Hells as a collective are not fundamentally capable of doing that. Most of them are either apathetic to the gods or actively hostile to them; a lot of their attitudes are myopic and selfish.

The forces of the Red Moon are set to invade and colonize the planet, killing hundreds if not thousands of people as they assert themselves in whatever way they want.

Everything held in place by divine magic - such as it is currently - will be unleashed if the gods depart. We've seen that in small form with the demons that overran the Iridon Bastion - a lesson none of the Hells seemed to have realized will happen to the whole of Exandria without the gods' magic.

Ludinus clearly has designs on conquest, and he's arguably the most powerful arcane magic user in Critical Role right now, to say nothing of any powerful servants or sycophants he's able to draw to himself.

Almost none of the Hells seems to realize this - or at least give a shit about it.

Ashton blames the gods for every terrible thing that's happened to him, and hates them on principle anyway, petulant child that he is. FCG would be horrified at his friends' actions.

Dorian is consumed with vengeance, a dark inversion of his father's experience with far-reaching politics, and would rather see the gods destroyed if he could work his will, ignorant and/or apathetic of the countless lives that would be lost just to avenge his brother.

In spite of being revived by the Everlight - a life-changing, paradigm-shifting experience for most people - Laudna continues to be apathetic at best about the gods, seeing them as distant and irrelevant.

Fearne, even having made strides in not being so mindlessly selfish, is still too enticed by the chaos and possibilities of a world without the gods to feel too strongly about saving them. She's got power approaching divine within her very being at this point, and she can theoretically protect her friends, so who cares about the rest of the world.

The rest are wild cards.

Imogen still isn't quite sure what she wants, whether she wants to even be rid of her powers or not. She's shown signs of understanding the bigger picture, but she'll go whichever way she feels in the moment.

Chetney has seen kingdoms rise and fall and understands that dramatic events are necessarily the end of the world, but also seems to recognize a catastrophic possibility when it presents itself. He's concerned about himself (and the rest of the Hells to a lesser extent) but as long as the decision doesn't pertain to one of his few hangups, he's made historically sound decisions.

Orym, Captain Exandria, is about the only member of the Hells with his head screwed on straight, but his complete inability to see himself as anything but a disposable bodyguard has prevented him from taking the reigns of this unwieldy beast of a party in spite of proving himself hundreds of times over to have more sound judgment than anyone else. He doesn't care much for the gods in general, but out of anyone he's the one who understands their necessity in both the wider ecosystem of Exandria and their aid in the coming conflict.

Now, the party is not alone in this. Matt, for better or worse, has not only put this monumental decision - save the gods or not - before a party that mostly dislikes the gods, but has almost completely failed to impress upon them the value of keeping the gods. There have been moments (the bull in Uthodern, the Iridon Bastion) that's shown a world without them, but the players aren't transferring this information from the context it first appears in to a greater understanding of the consequences of the path they're on. They're not fucking getting it. If anything, he's continued to present various perspectives on getting RID of the gods, to the point where it's been obvious there's a disconnect at times between what the players as people want to do and what the characters they're playing would do.

I'm still enjoying the performances and storytelling, but it's been an increasingly frustrating experience watching the characters stare the fate of the world in the face and just kind of give a shrug. Campaign 2 was my introduction for CR, and it felt like that campaign had a good balance between morally ambiguous heroes and doing the right thing, but Campaign 3 feels like it's gotten lost in its own moral complexity. I don't mind an 'evil' campaign, but this just feels like watching a bunch of selfish assholes twiddle their thumbs over the end of the world.

[chaos-burst]

going through my old greystorm to write list 

- fake dating to shock your parents with the punk of their nightmares - bodyguard AU  - amnesia - five times dorian helps ashton sleep and one time ashton helps dorian sleep - ashton and dorian have an arranged marriage AU with ashton as the bastard son of an earth genasi noble - pride & prejudice adjacent thingy - magical realism college sports rivalry - 5 times Dorian carried someone and 1 time someone (Ashton) carried him