#dairon x beau

[captainsspnanon]

C2E71 - Family Gathering - rewatch

Ah no, now Laura and Travis are remote! I remember them saying after that the connection wasn’t great, and Travis specifically talking about how it was hard for him to handle it remote, especially with the ADD (I’m pretty sure they said that, at least) (if I recall, it was the reason he gave for not connecting Caduceus’s story to Fjord’s last name)

Okay, is it just me, or are Dairon and Essek’s accents basically identical? Like, I’ve thought this from the start, even from my original watch through. It’s just hard because I don’t really have any good side by sides to compare it to, and also theoretically they should have very DIFFERENT accents because Empire and Xhorhas. I wonder if this is why I always kept forgetting Essek’s accent and thinking he had a different one (even with this watch through, I expect him to sound different somehow).

I mean, all respect to Matt for having a jillion different voices he can do, but because of that, when he ends up duplicating a prominent character’s voice, it gets very weird. I know this has happened before, but I honestly can’t remember who with. Just that he did a voice and it was very ‘but what that’s [x] other NPC’s voice!’

oh beau!!! My heart breaks a little bit at this scene, with Beau immediately being confrontational with Dairon, misunderstanding confusion as aggression. “but don’t – are you gonna get mad at me? Are you gonna get mad at me?” just the defensiveness falling into the insecurity, for me this very small bit right here is a FANTASTIC depiction of Beau. She’s aggressive to authority, but not because of the assumed ‘automatic disrespect to power discrepancy’, but due to her fear that no matter what she does, it’s not good enough. No matter how well she does, someone that she looks up to will deride her for it, or express displeasure in her doing it. Here it is so clearly seen how her father has impacted her. She just wants to do things RIGHT and have people SEE that she does. SEE how hard she tries. SEE that she cares, and honestly? PRAISE her for doing what she’s done. True, non-condescending praise. And not from someone like Jester who will praise her no matter what, not from someone like Fjord who will offer praise but also ask for help, but from someone who is on a demarcated level ABOVE her, who there is no doubt is higher ranking, who does not need a give and take on equal level. The difference between a sibling saying you did well, a classmate saying you did well, and a teacher saying you did well.

Dairon will eventually be on a level where she believes that she and Beau are equals, but I suspect that Beau will always consider her to be a form of authority, just a very positive authority who you almost want to remain in that position, so that any praise has that different feel than praise from a peer.

Huh, first watch through I completely missed Jester frantically waiving Beau off, trying not to have her tell Dairon about returning the beacon. That’s weird! Why would she be opposed?? She’s typically the MOST open of the Nein!

It is SOOO rewarding to watch this bit knowing about Essek being the traitor. They’re discussing giving away the beacons to start a war, to get lots of money, to get favors. None of those end up being true! He just wanted more knowledge that he wasn’t able to get on his own. I know there’s a lot of fanbase drama around Essek being a ‘war criminal’ and such, but what I put in his favor is that 1) EVERYONE says that the war was going to eventually happen and was getting closer and closer to a boiling point, and 2) he did this without the intention of causing harm. (I shouldn’t have to say this, but I’m going to anyway IT IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE HE IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER. NO ONE ACTUALLY DIED, THERE WAS NO ACTUAL WAR. As such, I can think of things from a character perspective, a narrative perspective, and gain a very VERY different viewpoint. If this was the real world, Essek was a real person, actually did these things for real, real people died, it should be damn OBVIOUS that the viewpoint would be different and there would be no ‘narrative’ or ‘character’ consideration.)

(also, I’ve read a few fantastic meta posts about how Essek was in the exact right position to be groomed by the Empire into becoming the traitor, which, while I adore them and will sometimes treat them as headcanon, I don’t consider to be actual canon. Just as Bren made the decision to kill his parents, Essek made the decision to hand over the beacons. In my opinion, Essek’s decision was actually more under his own control and more selfish than Bren. And this is why, as much as I enjoy a variety of Shadowgast fanfic, ones which turn Essek into pure woobie really don’t sit well with me. This is a man who caused harm, who did something selfishly and recognized that it likely WOULD cause harm, and as far as I can tell, did not begin to regret his actions until the Nein started to break down walls he had put up. As much as I will read fics that come up with reasons why Adeen Tasithar was evil and deserved what he got, as far as we know in canon, Adeen was kinda a jerk, and that was all. And Essek, as far as we see, has no regret for condemning him to imprisonment, likely torture, likely death.) (wow I jumped ahead there, oops) (I have Essek Opinions, and can get irritated at fan portrayal of him that flattens him out to ‘poor little meow meow’ and ‘the girl in the relationship’. Seriously, I think a lot of fan fic authors needs to learn that in a queer relationship, one of the people involved does not need to be the feminine one, the girly one, the one who hits all the ‘stay at home waiting for her man, decked out in jewelry’ tropes. I have a LOT of trouble with feminized Essek art because of this, ESPECIALLY because all official Essek art depicts him as very masculine, to the point where people scream that he looks ugly and out of character) (okay I’ll stop ranting now I promise) (at least about this topic)

A lot of wonderful conversation between Beau and Dairon, and I’m getting distracting by Laura and Travis getting distracted XD

I wonder if Matt was nudging towards them giving Essek’s name as a contact to Dairon, with the thought of Dairon eventually being the one to expose him, at least to the group. Again, one of the things that I wonder how far ahead he plans things, and how much he tries subtle nudging during play. Was he trying to get this step? Or was it just that Dairon needed help and it ended up coming to this during the RP?

*snerk* I don’t think I’ve ever seen Matt so snarky that he has the NPC call out the cast for not paying attention during a scene. I love that Sam catches it first and goes ‘i’m distracting your wife’ and Matt’s just like yuuuuup.

*grimaces* I hate when I notice my own personal biases, especially when they’re stupid. I am NOT a fan of Taliesin rolling a die in his hand and directly asking Matt “how high do I have to roll to tell that someone was in the house”, because it doesn’t give an opportunity for Matt to really say no. Now he HAS to allow for Tal to make the check, even if it’s something where he didn’t want Tal to at all. BUT! BUT! I also know that this is me being more sensitive to Taliesin when he does things like this, as I’m 95% sure that Liam has done something similar in C3 and I wasn’t bothered by it. Maybe not as directly, but he’s 100% rolled dice in his hands sort of non-verbally asking to be permitted a perception check – I guess I’m more okay with it because a lot of times Matt DOESN’T ask for one, and Liam just puts the dice down without making a big deal about it, whereas this is straight up “let me do the thing”. Now I know that Matt technically could have made it an impossible DC, or set it at like 28+ or something. It’s just something that rubs me the wrong way.

(I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I definitely do adore Taliesin and all the PCs he’s created minus Molly/Kingsley, but he’s also the player that I tend to have the most issues with. I think our styles of play are just clashing. It’s very very rare that he does something WRONG, but it’s not super uncommon that he does something that I don’t like.)

….and immediately after THAT – Jester rolls at nat 20 to see Dairon, but Caduceus is the one saying that he saw her “wow all the way up there”. NO TALIESIN. LAURA GOT THE SUCCESS, NOT YOU. *huffs* And then calling her down. Matt specifically had confirmed that Caduceus didn’t find her. THIS is something that Taliesin does occasionally that I do feel is WRONG and not just a thing I don’t like. We didn’t like it when Orion would take away spotlight from another player, well I don’t like it when Taliesin does it either.

(also in fairness this is definitely a clashing play style that I KNOW I have issues with. In my campaign, my druid had turned into a water bug so that she could skim across a bog, the DM gave me a bunch of information, and then a player whose PC was all the way back across the entire bog started talking and RPing and using the information. Which meant that without my decision, my PC had returned to the group AND dropped her wildshape to share the information. Meaning that any other shit I wanted to do? Couldn’t. Because the other player had a cool thing she wanted to do with the info, so she did it, without considering that her PC wouldn’t have known the info. Tal wanted to do his funny RP without him considering that Caduceus was confirmed by Matt to not have seen Dairon, but because Jester did, even though Jester didn’t TELL, Caduceus got to do his funny bit, overriding any RP decisions that Laura may have wanted to make.)

Oh joy, I get to be a negative nancy, because we immediately then go into SAM and one of my peeves with HIM. Nott clarifying that Dairon would possibly be a maid? Completely in character. Knowing that Jester had people tend the house and asking about it? Still in character. Dismissively saying that sure you can learn a servants name? NOT in character, just 100% a Sam joke. He even confirms it when Marisha cracks ‘your Scanlan is showing’ and he corrects ‘my Sam Riegel is showing’. Look, it’s a very funny joke, especially with the context of Dairon ready to pulverize for the joke, but it makes no sense at all for Nott to say it. It’s no wonder that it’s harder for me to get a good sense of Sam’s characters, when he In Character makes jokes that are clearly Out Of Character, but now his PC has made the joke and is being reacted to as such, even when it makes no sense for his PC to act that way.

There’s an aspect of Caleb that the campaign never really went in depth on, which is touched on here. Caleb is very certain that he’s still being hunted for, if not already found. The team are indicating that with the war going on, looking for one guy isn’t really that big of a deal, bad use of resources. Caleb is very disbelieving and in fact flinches during the conversation. We know from later that Trent wanted Caleb to take over for his own position. With all the vollstrecker, I really wonder how high up in the chain Caleb was, to know that he would very actively be hunted, to have Trent personally try to groom him for the position. Especially because Caleb/Liam have downplayed Caleb’s abilities, see Liam mentioning how he was only maybe level 2 before he broke, and that he never ‘graduated’, didn’t complete his learnings. Is it just the PC center, like how the players will always be the center? Or is there more that we never really had a chance to learn?

...document last saved 8/16. ...in fairness to me, I had a really rough end of August?

Wait is this the first instance of them teleporting to Yussa’s and just completely failing to let him know ahead of time??? XDDDD I love running gags that start AND continue just by sheer accident.

Did I only watch a few minutes and then leave for nearly a month? Yes again.

I’m so used to the meme-ing of Yussa being a complete reckless dumbass that it’s almost jarring to actually watch again and see him all intellectual and collected. Granted, he hasn’t trapped himself yet (the first time), so we’ll get there.

Ugh I can’t WAIT for more happy fun ball time! Not for a while yet though, I don’t think. Do they only go in shortly before Ashley returns? I know they have to go kill the heart, meet Allura, find out that the Angel of Irons is actually Tharizdun…. Either way, a good chunk off. Maybe it happens in the 80s.

LOL Sam and Marisha’s grimaces of ‘this fucking guy’ when Yussa is claiming that the dragon they killed could be considered a rare powerful endangered being by some, all while he’s just claiming the treasure as his.

Good on Tal for recognizing that they’re all still clothed in Kryn attire! 100% something that I forgot the first time I watched and also now. It’s the tricky part of dnd being imagination based, there are things that would be super obvious to PCs (what they are wearing) that players won’t think about at all.

Poor Travis, you can really tell how much he’s struggling with the virtual connection. I’m not surprised, it’s hell for adhd. I can’t tell you how glad I was that I was not in school when covid hit, there is absolutely no way I would have been able to keep my education up virtually. I had to take a single virtual course in college and it was HELL. Thank god we were only graded on the tests.

It’s really hard for me to say who my favorite NPC in all of C2 is, especially ‘cause I’m a huge fan of Shadowgast, but honestly I think it’s Yeza. Just the way Matt portrays him, the VOICE, the mannerisms! Every time I hear him speak it’s an instant emotional surge of ‘PROTECT THIS MAN AT ALL COSTS’. I know there’s a lot that can be discussed about his and Veth’s relationship dynamics and whether or not it’s healthy, but I do love this little guy so much. To use internet-speak, the BEST cinnamon roll, too good too pure for this world!

If they do C4, I wonder if Liam will make a PC with low wisdom/perception. Vax, Caleb, and Orym all have good perception skills. For all that Caduceus is the ‘perceptive’ one of the bunch, I think he and Caleb actually have tied perception (+10 with 19 passive), whereas Vax actually beats it due to high level privilege (+14 with 20 passive at level 20, but +10 with 19 passive at level 10/11, which I think is where the Nein is at?). (Vex was at 30 passive by level 20 thanks to Observant.) I’m presuming that it’s due to Liam’s enjoyment of the perception skill what with Vax doing his rogue-y investigating all the time and Caleb always looking through Frumpkin for an edge. It’s be a bit fun to see him do a PC with wisdom as a dump stat. (then again, considering I want to see him play a cleric…. *looks at all the dnd classes* Honestly, it’s hard to try and predict anything for a potential C4 for ANYONE because of what they’ve played. He probably wouldn’t do paladin because of the C1 multiclass, I don’t know if he’d go for sorcerer or artificer after playing wizard, he has mentioned before his lack of desire to play bard, even with Matt’s special college of tragedy. Hmmm. I can see him doing ranger or monk – though once again those are high wisdom. Same with cleric or druid. I struggle seeing him play barbarian [plus I really really want to see Laura play a barb], maybe a warlock? Then again, warlock with wisdom as the dump stat is just Fjord XD)

(just came up with a hypothetical C4 that I think would be fun for me to watch. Ashley – monk. Laura – barbarian. Liam – cleric. Marisha – paladin. Travis – wizard. Taliesin – druid. Sam – sorcerer. Sam and Taliesin were the hardest for me to think of classes for, especially because Taliesin has had flavor dips [warlock and artificer for C1, even though not the mechanics]. I could also see Sam as warlock)

Sometimes when Liam is emoting, it’s very hard for me to tell if it’s him or Caleb. Him watching the reunion of Luc with Veth and Yeza could honestly be either, because Liam gets very Feels with family and kid stuff (I remember him being uncomfortable when Matt was describing Nila’s son being imprisoned), but it ALSO is 100% in character for it to be Caleb feeling emotional because one- family whole and reunited for his best friend, two – that he can never have again for himself, and three – which may lead to Veth leaving.

WHAT IS THIS. YEZA is convincing Veth to show Luc her crossbow. VETH is telling Luc it’s too dangerous he can’t play with it he can’t touch it. How how the turns tabled.

(fun fact, never watched the office! I think I’ve seen one or two episodes ever? I can’t handle cringe humor, it just makes me uncomfortable)

LOL it didn’t take too long for that to switch

Matt’s faces as Luc are too precious.

Is there anything more Beau than Marion saying that the relationship was like ‘friendship’ and Beau says that she was going to say ‘unhealthy’. Beau is a very very good friend at this point, but she definitely still has a hard time comprehending it, especially when reciprocal to her.

First of all, lovely Caleb and Nott conversation about staying and going, but more importantly, LAURA’S FACES. She is soooo ticked that Sam is even considering have a PC leave mid-campaign again!

Oh man, I checked the transcript to see how quiet Travis was this episode, because he’s CLEARLY out of it. 60 sentences, most of them four words or less.

OMG WAIT WAIT WAIT IS THIS CALIANNA’S PACKAGE!!!!! DOES CALEB GET THE WAND FOR THE TOWER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

(backtracking slightly, I’m a little disappointed that Matt took the lead in the conversation between Marion and Jester. Laura very much initiated the idea for the talk, and I wonder if she was able to share what she wanted to. It was clear from the start that it was a very introspective and sad Jester, but then Matt pretty quickly led the conversation away from that. Granted I’m sure the main part was informing Marion of Astrid, but I really wonder what else Jester could have said)

...Marisha looks pretty cute with the bow on actually. ….is Fjord’s stuff actually potpourri?? LOL NOPE HOMEOPATHIC FUR ALLERGY TREATMENT.

I don’t think when I watched the first time that I actually realized that Mark was a DM. I think it was mentioned, but not really processed. However, looking at these items and hearing Caleb read the letter, it’s VERY clear that it was gifted by a very talented DM. Also Caleb’s letter gave me all the feels.

I honestly really like the fact that Veth is kind of a bad parent? Like, she deliberately spoils Luc and tries to get Yeza to spoil him constantly too. But at the same time, she’s a good parent. Makes him try bites of his food, wants to ensure his care. But I appreciate how Sam is always willing to lean HARD into the flaws of his PCs. I also like that Matt/Yeza had to be the one to tell Veth to go with the Nein. Granted, I can’t imagine a circumstance where Matt would tell a PC to leave the party, but still XD.

(...I JUST realized I’ve been typing for YEARS with the zoom set at 80%. omg the text is so much bigger now!)

I want to know how long Liam was planning to use the teleportation circle as a method to talk to and reassure Luc. It is so beautifully done, and once again I have a little difficulty telling who’s emoting, because it 100% could have been Veth and 100% could have been Sam. I’m actually slightly leaning more towards it actually being Sam, as I think that there’s a level of emoting around the eyes that he tends NOT to do in play (this moment here, the level 9 counterspell).

I wonder if Laura and Travis are in a different time zone. He is OUT of it. Well, I suppose humor is more contagious in person, I know I’m more likely to laugh in a room of people then just hearing those people talk online.

I like that Essek’s first teleportation actually starts with a mishap. I tend to forget about it, but it humanizes him a bit in these ‘early’ episodes.

UTHODERN!!!!

[lexa-lives-in-us]

Cobalt Ruby semi-update.

Semi just because it’s old stuff finally uploaded on AO3. Enjoy!

[mnemememory]

The most irritating thing about Beauregard doesn’t actually have anything to do with Beauregard herself. Surprisingly enough.

“Was it really necessary,” Dairon says between kisses. “To bring your companions?”

Beauregard just laughs at her, which is a new experience in itself. Nobody laughs at Dairon – at least, nobody in their right mind. It has been well established over the course of their acquaintanceship that no, no part of Beauregard is in her “right mind”, which is something that Dairon finds to be inexplicably attractive. It’s a sickness in her.

The current source of Dairon’s vexation is sitting outside this very room, talking. Very loudly. Dairon can’t quite seem to tune them out. She’s too used to listening to everyone and everything, shoulders tense and spine ready to receive the sharp edge of a blade.

Beauregard seems to sense Dairon’s genuine discomfort, because she pulls away with a soft sigh. She’s sitting on Dairon’s lap, legs sprawled out haphazardly to either side of her thighs. For once, Dairon has to look up at her former pupil, who has her arms linked carelessly across Dairon’s shoulders.

“I can tell them to leave,” she says. “If it’s really bothering you. They’re just excited to have some downtime.”

“I can tell that,” Dairon says sourly.

Beauregard shrugs and starts to shift around, leaning her weight back so that they’re looking eye-to-eye. “We haven’t had much of a chance to stay somewhere as nice as this. Things have been kind of tight lately.”

Things have been ‘kind of tight’ everywhere, lately. Or so it seems to Dairon, who is being worn ragged by the constant request for information, about everything possible at every point in time. Dairon is used to following orders, but she isn’t used to following so many orders at once.

From the next room over, Beauregard’s blue friend – Jester, who named her bids “Norbert” and “Rudolph”, and who now respond to nothing else – lets out a piercing laugh. Dairon winces. Beauregard just gives another chuckle and presses Dairon forward further onto the bed.

“C’mon, let them have their fun,” she murmurs into Dairon’s neck. “They’re just high strung, is all. And Yasha promised me she wasn’t going to let anyone come in without proper warning.”

Dairon is, in spite of her better judgement, beginning to be swayed to Beauregard’s side of things. She’s a little compromised at the moment.

“I don’t like them,” she says.

“I know you don’t,” Beauregard says. It sounds a little condescending. Dairon’s jaw clenches, but she refuses to rise to the bait. There’s nothing quite like Beauregard’s ability to strain her patience. There are very few people who would dare to talk down to Dairon – at least, not while knowing her true face. And while Dairon can safely say that Beauregard hasn’t quite managed to scrape her way so far under her skin as to have discovered every secret Dairon possesses. Well. Out of everyone, she has certainly gotten the furthest.

Dairon sighs and loops her arms around Beauregard’s neck, pulling her a little further down. Beauregard leans in, but there’s a tension in her jaw that belays her easy acquiescence. Dairon has no qualms in taking comfort in the fact that even now, in a straight fight, Beauregard would lose.

“You are not the only ones on down time, as you so eloquently put it,” Dairon says.

Outside the room, there is another bout of laughter. Dairon makes the conscious effort to ignore it.

“No,” Beauregard agrees. “When do you have to leave?”

An hour ago, Dairon wants to say. Yesterday. Last week. I’m not supposed to be here. This is the worst idea I’ve ever had, being with you, and I’ve had some bad ideas in my life.

“Soon,” is all Dairon says, and pulls Beau back into a kiss.

[walkthegale]

I have just finished this week’s episode and I would like to say I WROTE THIS FIC

“The next time the Nein show up at the Archive in Zadash, Dairon’s there. Beau would have been less surprised to see them just about anywhere else in Wildemount.” - Equals

Ok, so it was Rexxentrum but close enough. So yeah, Beau and Dairon definitely spent some time together before Dairon left, is all I’m saying.

[maskeddevera]

Critical Role: Campaign 2, Episode 77 “A Tangled Web”: Beauregard Lionett’s relationships

With the Critical Role week break coming up, I’m writing a post for each Mighty Nein character analyzing all of their current relationships as of the end of episode 77, including my opinions on romantic relationships. Since I’m writing these posts in alphabetical order, I’m starting with Beau.

Beauregard - romantic relationships and friends as of episode 77

We joke about Beau getting the most action, and it’s true.

Romantic relationships outside of the Mighty Nein:

Beau & Tori:

Beau has an ex girlfriend, a criminal named Tori. We don’t know much about her except like Beau, she was a criminal, so probably not the best influence. However, Beau’s assumption that Tori didn’t truly care for her doesn’t seem to have much basis in what Beau has told us because it is mainly based on Beau not seeing her after they were arrested. Do I ship Beau and Tori at the moment? No, there is nothing to really make us like Tori unless Matt shows up and plays Tori in a way that makes us like her.

Beau & Vorsa

Elven companion that Beau paid five gold pieces for - not really a romantic relationship, but it was as physical one. It sounded like Beau thought Vorsa had a good time, so I’m adding Vorsa the the list to be complete. There is no reason to ship them together.

Beau & Keg:

After adventuring together, they had a one night stand. Keg sneaked out the next day but their night together seemed to impact her positively.

Personally, I can’t take this relationship seriously enough to ship beyond a one night stand. Keg might have been a bit starstruck, but I get the impression that both Beau and Keg knew that this was a one night stand and that they don’t have much in common.

Beau & Reani:

Reani developed a crush on Beau when they were adventuring together, and Beau made her move when Reani attempted to give her a rose. They shared a kiss and probably made love as well.

This kiss was so romantic, and their relationship could develop into something more, but I have trouble believing that Beau and Reani would work in a long term serious relationship.  Their personalities and world views are too different.

Beau & Dairon (Wild Card):

Nothing has happened physically in canon. However, Beau clearly finds Dairon attractive and often pretends to be in a romantic relationship with Dairon or tries to use a romantic relationship as a cover. I have felt that there has been some tension a few times between Beau and Dairon that could be read as sexual or romantic...it’s difficult to tell if this tension is just because Marisha and Matt have great chemistry that is bleeding into these scenes. I see potential for a romance here if Matt indicates Dairon ever showing an interest. She is also the character outside of the Mighty Nein that Beau has been most emotionally vulnerable around. The only thing that might make it a bit awkward is crossing the lines from mentor to partner.

The Mighty Nein: Romantic and Non-Romantic Relationships

Beau is a lesbian, which leaves only the ladies of Nott, Jester, and Yasha as Mighty Nein members that she might be interested in romantically. Nott is married, and even prior to knowing that information Beau didn’t show any romantic interest in her, so I’m going to dismiss Nott from romantic consideration for Beau. I also personally read Beau & Jester as friends, so I’m evaluating them as such although I know several fans disagree.

Romantic

Beau & Yasha

Marisha came on strong with Beau hitting on Yasha early on. With Yasha’s extreme awkwardness and how much Ashley has had to be away, it was difficult to tell if Yasha had any feelings for Beau. Some of them started to peek out over time, and Ashley has teased us that Yasha has been developing fond feelings for others in the Mighty Nein. Complications abound that I will discuss more in my Yasha-centric post: Yasha had a wife named Zuala, and we find out where she comes from that you only get married once in your life. Also, since Yasha didn’t witness Zuala being killed, there is the possibility that Zuala is still alive. Just before Yasha broke from the party recently, Beau had started to open up to her. If anyone is going to end up with Beau romantically in the long term, at the moment I could get the most behind Yasha once we get Ashley back on a permanent basis for every Thursday. That said, this ship is for those of us who can withstand a lot of angst.

--

Non-romantic

Beau & Caduceus

I don’t feel Caduceus and Beau have had much interaction with each other that I can think of off the top of my head, although it is interesting that Taliesin identified Beau as Caduceus’ favorite member of the Mighty Nein way back around episode 50. (I feel like that might have changed with recent events). Caduceus appreciated her attempting to be more honest in negotiations.

Beau & Caleb “The Empire Kids”

How far Caleb and Beau have come from only begrudgingly identifying with each other due to not being able to see in the dark and Caleb needing a convenient shoulder to lean on when he goes into Frumpkin-vision! I adore this friendship -- how Beau was one of the first to call Caleb out, the second to learn his secret, and how she never told his secret. She still knows more about Caleb than most of the other Mighty Nein members. I love how Beau and Caleb’s joint disdain for the corruption of the Empire is turning out to be because they care about people, and how they are deeply becoming involved in wanting to end that war and that corruption. Her reluctance to join Caleb in his studies has morphed into someone who also finds something useful in books. They have a friendship that has developed into a level of trust and respect that I find endearing even when they squabble.

Beau & Fjord

Beau always has Fjord’s back and vice versa. Beau has become Fjord’s first mate (or second mate due to Travis - I think accidentally for memory reasons and not intentionally - demoting her). I like how much Beau respects Fjord’s opinion and listens to his coaching about how she should interact with others. I also like how she wants to give back to him what he has given to her (such as recently offering to have him join her workouts). For being very different people, Beau and Fjord have a rock solid friendship and often end up being the grounding members of the group.

Beau & Jester

(some may disagree with me, but I don’t read this friendship as a romance)

While there is some incredible fan art of these two involved romantically, in game I’ve read their relationship as close friends. Beau has told Jester that she loves her, but for me Beau’s amusement and “well, in a way” when Jester asks Beau if she is secretly in love with her to me sums it up and says it all. The Mighty Nein love Jester, but that doesn’t mean that they are all in love with Jester. I’ve thought about where this relationship could go if they took it a different way, but for me personally, I love the solid comradery of this relationship and the woman-supporting-woman loyalty without adding in romantic complications that could make their solid friendship awkward. While I think Jester gets more out of Beau’s friendship - Beau hypes up Jester to others, defends her, and tells her that it is okay to be sad -- I feel that their friendship exists at all is very important to Beau who has struggled with loneliness.

Beau & Mollymauk

I keep waiting for Mollymauk’s tarot cards to make another appearance. Other than perhaps Yasha, I feel like Mollymauk’s fate has had the most impact on Beau. She truly tries to keep his philosophy in mind about leaving each town better than they left it and also just enjoying life and living in the moment. I also think it might impact how Beau treats others knowing that at any moment this conversation might be your last with them.

Beau & Nott

Do these two ever interact? I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head except for their competitive race to the top of the trees that ended in Nott shooting Beau in the butt. It always seems like when Beau and Nott interact there are others involved such as Jester or Caleb in the middle of the interaction.

[widobravely]

the internet has ruined me, like. beau talked to jester about messaging her boss dairon and she goes, "she was a...roommate...at the cobalt soul"

and my mind immediately went, "oh my god, you were roommates?" (even tho they weren't)

anyway now i ship beau/darion. in which badass monk teacher tops slightly less badass but still badass monk student. monk student essentially goes "step on me" and monk teacher obliges

[wistfulwatcher]

[shadowhearthallowleaf]

Each interaction gets me more onboard

[lexa-lives-in-us]

Come to the dark side.

We have cookies and softness and dirty minds.

just skimming through ao3, putting fics in my marked for later list instead of actually reading them, as you do, when I saw one tagged

dairon/marion lavorre

[bloodyshadow1]

something that really stuck with me during talks was Marisha saying that what happened to Beau with the Soul taking responsibility and apologizing to her is a fantasy never seen in stories for victims of abuse, because she’s a 100% right.  In media, there are often 2 stories that are told (when the victim of abuse is the protagonist) 

1. Society has failed the abused and it’s up to them to take matters into their own hands, often getting vengeance but rarely justice, if it isn’t a tragedy, where the protagonist doesn’t get either.  Most often seen in movies as the short runtime and focus required fits the abuse as a whole plot.  Ex you’ve been beaten by your husband constantly, but the cops won’t do anything because X, Y, or Z, so you need to take matters into your own hands learn karate and kick boxing to get strong on your own and beat your abuser to show you’re not weak. or increasingly common, the people in power know that you and others are being abused, but because of the abuser’s status it would reflect poorly on the establishment to punish them so they let it happen. (which it seemed the Soul was doing)

2. It’s something in the background that shapes the abused as a character and used as an explanation for how they are.  Often times this leaves the abuser as a nonentity only existing in the backstory, and more often than not forgotten since the plot doesn’t revolve around them.  maybe the Abused will get the chance to confront their abuser somewhere down the line when they’re facing their ghosts but a lot of the time it’s framed as letting the abuser go if the abused is stronger than they were, sometimes even forgiving them in some weird way for making the protagonist stronger in some twisted way.  Ex you meet your parent who used to beat the crap out of you after school everyday to ‘toughen you up’ after years and after gaining super powers to fight monsters, you could crush them like a bug, but instead you forgive them, despite them not doing anything worth forgiving except maybe an apology, because their ‘tough love’ shaped you into the person you are today.  Something I know at the very least have seen a hundred times

Beau’s story is the first story I’ve ever seen where society (the Cobalt Soul) acknowledges her trauma and the abuse she went through, even though it isn’t actually the Soul’s fault because it was Zeenoth specifically who took the money to kidnap her, Zeenoth is still a member of the Cobalt Soul and such had the power to kidnap her and make her protests disappear.  Udalla Fon, the Head of the Wildemount archives, personally apologizes to Beau, they let her know that what happened to her was not the norm, nor was it acceptable, they inform her, that they’ve already brought Zeenoth into custody and he is awaiting trial. Beau didn’t have to do anything other than let it slip in passing during a moment of anger that she was kidnapped for money in front of Dairon, an expositor and someone who saw potential in Beau, and it was being taken care of.  

It got to the point where Beau didn’t even seem to think of Zeenoth as someone who abused her, that he was just a teacher who was bad at teaching her personally and just another part of the establishment that she had to deal with if she wanted to stay an expositor. Instead of you know..., the guy who was bribed into kidnapping her from her family home.  Marisha is right, I can’t think of a single story where society doesn’t fail a character when it comes to dealing with their abuser, yet here in a dnd show we see it and it is amazing.   That for once an abused character doesn’t have to scrape and scrap to be treated like a human being and respected as such.  Even better, they don’t even try to act like it’s for the greater good since Beau is an expositor in their ranks now so things worked out making it okay.  No, they reflect on what happened and tell Beau sincerely, that while they appreciate her and are happy that she is an expositor, that in a kinder world they hope she would find her way to them willingly instead of being forced.  There’s no, ‘well it sucked but it made you into the woman you are today so it makes it okay in the long run,’ from them, it’s, you deserved to make the choice yourself and we’d like to think that you would find your way here, but are sorry that you never had the choice to make.

The storyline almost comes out of nowhere because it was building in the background since Trostenwald, since episode 4 of the campaign.  Beau got justice even though she didn’t have to seek it out and it was a delight to see

[beauregardlionett]

Beau: A Study in Scars

@swordshapedleaves made this post two weeks ago and i cannot draw for shit but i said i would list out the scars for reference because i am obsessed with our resident monk

some notes before we begin! i skimmed through every combat and only took down notes on damage that would leave physical scars (i.e. psychic and necrotic and poison damage were not counted) and ran with the assumption that bludgeoning damage resulted in bruises that did not leave scars. this also means that i might have missed a few scars because i know there were likely a couple of times Beau might have obtained a scar outside of combat times.

additionally liberties taken include assuming that despite cleric healing spells, wounds were not all fully healed and still potentially scared over. if i learned anything while going through all these battles, it is that her stupidly jacked AC probably saved her ass in the early days of the campaign since she was running up on enemies when she had less than 60HP to her name.

one last note - while Matt does a WONDERFUL job of describing a lot of the combat, there were times where less significant damage was not as fully described, so some scars do not have the best descriptions of where they are on her body, so I used context clues and took my best guess on some, and on others just labeled as unknown. feel free to let me know if you find out more accurate descriptions!

with that - list is below the read more!

e001 - zombie claws dug into abdomen (scars would be shaped as such) and teeth embedded into and between knuckles (scars would be messy and slim)

e004 - busted lip from initiation fight with Dairon (likely a slim, paler scar on lower lip); potentially contusion scar on right wrist

e005 - bite scar on right forearm from gnoll (marks would be on top and underside of forearm); spear to the abdomen (scar would be shaped as such, likely a little jagged around the edges)

e006 - cracked right elbow into the ground hard enough to break skin (potentially light very faded scaring)

e007 - 40ft fall down a hole resulting in landing on rocks on her back (scars - if any - would be jagged and sporadic from impact and scrapes)

e012 - rug of smothering likely resulted in rug burns but damage was categorized as bludgeoning; slashed in the chest by a sword through said rug (specific area not specified)

e013 - assassin left two sword cuts across upper chest in an ‘x’ pattern (scars would likely be clean, long lines as wide as the blade); arcane brand seared on her sternum from an attack; sword slashed across her chest from just under right clavicle to left upper ribs (this attack KO’d Beau and would likely also be a clean scar)

e017 - otyugh bite to torso & infects wound (specific area not specified; scars would reflect size of mouth); piercing wound from tentacle wrapping around her (body part n/a)

e019 - wolf claws/teeth damage (wasn’t sure where but i believe it was on her left arm)

e021 - poison/acid burns on the front of her neck, face, and upper torso from venom troll (this attack KO’d Beau; scars would likely have splatter pattern and the skin would look a little rough, almost like blisters); troll claws dug into thigh and side (side of body not specified; scars would likely be piercing instead of slash marks)

e022 - trident to upper left side of chest and shoulder (scars slightly jagged and piercing wound, not slashing); merrow bite (scars to arm/chest?); took lightning damage while in water (burn scars would be similar to acid scars; right cheek, down her neck and over her shoulder); secondary bite attack to left clavicle and catches her cheek (this attack KO’d Beau; scars would likely be jagged and messy since merrow ripped away from her after biting)

e023 - acid/poison spray to face/upper chest from venom troll (again)

e025 - heated shrapnel sprayed likely over the front of her body (misc. piercing/burn scars); whirling blades scars from gearkeeper (body part not specified, likely over her arms); busted knuckles against armor plus additional shrapnel blast (attack KO’d Beau; scars would be misc. and jagged)

e026 - acid shot (body part unspecified); cold burns/frostbite from Lorenzo (misc. body parts; scars would look almost like heat burn scars, but likely with a different color tinge to them); arrow wound to the shoulder (clean scar; side not specified)

e028 - arrow just below sternum between two ribs (Nott shot her; scar would look disproportionately older in comparison due to Cad’s healing)

e029 - glaive to the back from Lorenzo (scar would be clean line, possibly wider toward the bottom and thinner toward shoulders from slashing motion); cold burn/frostbite from Lorenzo (this attack KO’d Beau; misc. body parts)

e035 - arrow wound (grazed her; small, clean scar); heavy crossbow wound (potentially to the shoulder, side not specified)

e039 - bite from snake priest/yuan-ti to her right shoulder (scars would reflect fang punctures more than teeth); scimitar strike to the chest; hydra bite to right side of her abdomen, secondary bite to her upper torso (area n/a); two additional bite attacks (area n/a; attack KO’d Beau)

e044 - bite/claw scars from merrow to the right side of her neck and shoulder (scars likely long and messy from momentum); claw slashes from Dashilla to abdomen and chest (clean lines from slashing)

e047 - pincer strike to left side of her neck (likely a piercing scar)

e050 - lava burns to hands and forearms as well as blisters to her face and neck from proximity

e052 - shoosuva bite to left shoulder and chest (scars would reflect creature size); piercing scar from tail to left lower back just off to the side from her spine

e055 - misc. burns to upper body from Caleb’s fireball

e059 - mild scrapes from erupting earth during giant fight (scars are likely not even visible); burns from proximity to wall of fire (misc. to the front of her body); slashing strikes from claws to the left side of her face and right shoulder down right arm from babau (scars would likely be clean lines, thicker toward point of origin and thinner at the other end)

e063 - greatsword slashing damage from strikes to her chest; one specifically cuts up the front of her chest, up the right side of her neck, barely missing vitals (scars would be clean lines, thicker toward point of origin)

e065 - scrapes from being thrown off moorbounder (scars likely not visible); gloomstalker bite and claw scars (area of body n/a)

e067 - mist lightning burns on misc. body parts; specific burns on her right palm and fingers from grabbing the gem power source

e069 - slashing scars from the Laughing Hand’s sword/blade arm; one attack left scar on unspecified body part while other was to the left side of her chest, just under her clavicle; two additional scars from sword strikes from Yasha (body part n/a)

e073 - fire damage to knuckles/fists from Remorhaz; bite mark spanning whole torso plus additional burns (attack KO’d Beau); further proximity burns when attacking with her staff

e075 - cold burns/frostbite from proximity to dragon’s breath

e079 - greatsword scar from shoulder down her chest from Yasha (area n/a)

e081 - cold burns from proximity to magical ballista in the HFB

e082 - bite attack from mutant Halas in HFB (body part unspecified); also took bludgeoning damage from being slammed into the wall, but scars likely do not exist (she just took a decent hit here)

e085 - sword strikes from the Caedogeist across her stomach (scars would be clean lines)

e086 - burns from fire storm that Respa cast; sword strikes from the Laughing Hand (scar specifically on her left palm from her attempt at parrying the strike and down from the left side of her chest to her right hip); greatsword scar from Yasha (scar from right shoulder across her upper chest; this attack KO’d Beau); large, long piercing scar just below her sternum from Yasha’s near fatal strike with the Skingorger; left lower side stab wound from the Caedogeist (unclear if this was a piercing wound or a grazing wound)

e094 - misc. slashes from zombie claws (body parts n/a)

e095 - acid burns from balderakes on her legs and arms (potentially; description was unclear); claw attack on right outer forearm

e098 - rusty blade strike from a sea spawn (potentially to her back, description was unclear); minor misc. piercing wounds from poison quills that she did not take poison damage from, no piercing damage was stated even though the quills “hit”

e104 - sword strike from left shoulder toward right hip from ghost on Rumblecusp

e105 - burns and blisters to her knuckles from punching Vokodo; extended exposure to heated water and continuous punching left misc. burns on her body and aggravated burns to the point of burst blisters and bleeding on her knuckles; some on her feet from kicking attacks

e107 - quote, “crushing tooth abrasions” from t-rex bite attack (likely to her upper torso and mid-section; massive teeth puncture wounds)

honorable mention - the scar she probably has on her ass from when Nott shot her with a gun when they were racing up a tree

[lexa-lives-in-us]

!!!!!!

May I request a Marion/Dairon snippet of what their future might look like in the undercover au?

The small celebrations turn into a fully fledged party. There is food, and music, and Dairon makes sure to keep an eye on Veth and Yasha for the first hour, because they keep tinkering with the shirt cannon until they are quite sure it's not fit to only throw t-shirts anymore.

But Caleb lures Veth away with the promise of good cocktails, and Yasha is easily distracted when Beau starts to drunkenly dance in the middle of the room.

The kids drink a bit more than what Dairon feels is necessary, and they suddenly feel very old and very boring.

They know they would've done the same at their age, and they also know that, as intoxicated as they are, these kids would probably be able to successfully go out and rob a bank and disappear into the night if it was needed.

So they sit back on the couch and try not to worry.

They sip at their drink, a concoction of something that Caduceus has put together almost casually, and she begins to feel the slight buzz of the alcohol. They're not drunk, not as much as the kids are, but they are positively and happily tipsy.

Marion collapses on the couch next to them, her own drink nearly finished in one hand and a darker shade of red on her cheeks.

Dairon leans back, rolling their neck on the back of the couch, before smiling softly at her.

"Are you happy, my darling?" Marion asks, husky and just slightly slurred.

Dairon chuckles, feeling lighter and more carefree than she's felt in a really long time.

"I am." they murmur, and Marion places her own empty glass on the ground before reaching for them.

Long fingers clasp Dairon's jaw, and Marion's tongue slowly licks Dairon's lips before the woman decides to kiss her.

Dairon melts against the couch, maneuvering themselves to also get rid of their glass and use their free hand to cup Marion's neck.

They make out, a bit sloppily, and Marion grabs their tongue between her teeth and sucks slowly on it until Dairon's hips slightly jerk forward.

An imperceptible movement for everyone else in the room except for Marion.

"Take me to bed." she commands, voice low and dripping with want.

Dairon could not say no if they were sober, and there is absolutely nothing more that they could want right now.

They barely throw a glance to the rest of the room, but Caleb and Caduceus are passed out in their beds, Fjord and Jester are curled up on their own bed and Beau and Yasha are still pressed against one another, slowly dancing at the rhythm of the new song.

No one is going to even notice they're gone.

Dairon gets up, pulling Marion with them, and they barely make it to the room before Marion's hands are digging beyond the hem of Dairon's pants.

They barely manage to close and lock the door behind them before Marion falls to her knees, dragging Dairon's clothing with her.

They barely notice the soft, steady pumping of the music coming from the other room, as Dairon finally pushes Marion onto the mattress and drives themselves into her, fingers curling and searching, their mouths locked in a searing kiss.

***

Veth leaves first, and they wave goodbye to her, Jester and Fjord as they all drive to the airport.

Witnessing Marion hug Jester and hold her closer to her chest, tears threatening to escape, is something Dairon never thought they would want to see.

Marion traces her daughter's face as she stares at her with loving intensity, almost like she's trying to commit it all to memory.

"You be careful, my sweet Sapphire." she tells her, and Jester closes her eyes and leans against her mother's touch.

"You, too, Mama." she says, and if anyone other than Dairon notices her voice shaking, they don't say a word. "I love you. Be happy, yes?"

It's a powerful, charged question, and it almost surprises Dairon when both Marion and Jester turn to glance briefly at them, before Marion whispers "I will."

Dairon feels like they're intruding, but Jester gives her mother one last squeeze before she approaches Dairon to hug them as well.

"Be careful and be happy." Jester repeats, and Dairon closes their eyes for a brief moment, allowing themselves to hold Jester's close for a long moment.

"I will do my best to protect her, Jester." they promise in a whisper, and they feel Jester smile against their shoulder.

"I know, Dairon. I'm not worried at all." she says, and she sounds incredibly sincere.

They watch them go, and only after the car has disappeared past the treeline Marion reaches for Dairon and lets herself cry.

The Nein watch her with dark expressions on their faces.

Dairon holds their lover with their heart breaking in two, and when they catch the somber expression on Beau's face, it shatters even more.

"It never gets any easier." Beau mutters, pulling Yasha against her side to squeeze her closer.

"It never will." Caleb echoes. "Let's get back inside."

***

It takes another day for them to clean up and close the safe house, picking up the equipment they can't leave behind and making sure everything else is undetectable.

Dairon and Marion help however they can, mainly observing the expert movements of these kids who are way too used to uprooting their lives to move them around the globe.

By the time nighttime hits, Beau comes back from driving Caduceus and Caleb to the airport, and then it's just the four of them.

They eat dinner in silence, finishing up all the leftovers Caduceus has saved up for them, and they don't stick around long afterwards.

In the darkness of what has been their room for the past few weeks, Marion places her head on Dairon's chest.

"A lot is going to change."

Dairon frowns.

"A lot has already changed, love." they mutter. "This feels like an avalance that we can't seem to stop."

Marion is quiet for a long moment.

"We'll be fine." she says, and it's determined.

Dairon decides to believe her.

***

They settle in Paris, and it's weird to go back to the same city where they have almost all died.

Dairon settles in Beauregard's safe house, a medium size two-bedroom apartment with a balcony facing the Eiffel Tower.

They raise an eyebrow at Beau and Beau blushes slightly.

"Yasha wanted a place with a view, how could I say no?"

"Whipped." Dairon grins, but before Beau can say anything back, Marion interjects from where she's taken a seat on the queen size bed.

"This bed is too small."

Dairon reply without even thinking about it: "We'll get a bigger one."

To which both Beau and Marion respond with a grin.

Beau backs away from the room to go and find Yasha, miming the sound of a whip hitting target.

***

Life in Paris is surprisingly easy.

As it turns out, Parisians don't really want to interact with tourists, or foreigners in general, and Dairon is more than happy to keep it that way.

They move around the city by foot, and start working with one of Marion's physiotherapists to get their arm back in tip-top shape.

After that, they sign up to a local gym, take personal training lessons to get back into shape and then rent out the studio for their own training classes.

They build their contacts back from scratch, using some of Beau's resources, some of Marion's and some of their own old ones.

Dairon lays low and doesn't make friends.

Not outside the Chateau, at least.

Inside of it, on the other hand, everyone learns who they are, or at least what is essential to know.

Dairon is Marion's lover. They are not a famous companion, they are not a VIP, they are not a well paying client. They are the person who gets to ask for Marion at any moment of the day and they get to know every single one of Marion's movement.

Marion Lavorre is very adamant of the fact that Dairon is to be allowed to handle the place as if they were Marion herself, and after Dairon slams one of the door security guards and lifts them against the wall with their good hand on the first week for trying to make fun of them and their relationship with Ms. Lavorre, nobody dares saying or doing anything ever.

Dairon and Bluud, the security guard, actually end up becoming pretty good friends, to a point where he invites them over to the Chateau gym to spar with him and the others on the security team.

Dairon learns every nook and corner of the Chateau, and they stop by at least once a day to either greet Marion with a good morning kiss, bid her goodnight with an evening one, or simply have a meal break with her.

Sometimes, Marion would drag them down with her eyes still half closed with sleep. She would kiss them with closed lips, always very self conscious about her morning breath, and she would snuggle closer to Dairon's chest until they both doze off to sleep.

Sometimes, Marion would wait for them at the end of the day with a bottle of fine wine and freshly baked goods from the kitchen and they would chat, sitting on the outdoor chairs on the balcony, telling each other about their days.

"Does it ever bother you, what I do?" Marion asks, almost every day for the first few weeks.

"No, it truly doesn't." Dairon responds in honesty. "I trust you, and I know you enjoy what you do. You love it, and I love you."

It comes easier and easier, to say those few words.

Marion always smiles and doesn't respond, kissing them instead.

Sometimes, Dairon would come back to their own place after a long day of sneaking around to find Marion already sitting on their bed, with her long hair draped around her shoulders and a pair of jeans and a shirt that would remind Dairon of different times.

Dairon would then press her against the mattress and claim her as theirs, kissing every inch of Marion's body to make her shiver.

"My darling." Marion would whisper, body arched in pleasure, nails scraping the back of Dairon's head clutched between her thighs. "My Dairon."

Sometimes, Dairon would drop on the mattress face first, and Marion would be the one taking care of them in the way Dairon would mostly need on the day.

"I was made for loving you." Marion tells them on the day of their sixth month anniversary.

Dairon's breath catches in their throat.

"You're a dangerous woman, Marion Lavorre." Dairon responds. "You make me want to do dangerous things."

Marion giggles, hand caressing the top of Dairon's head, looking absolutely stunning above them, naked body barely illuminated by the moonlight coming through the open window.

Sometimes, they would talk about their jobs.

"What do you want to do?" Marion would ask regularly, and Dairon updates her on their progresses, on what they built and what they discovered.

They both keep in touch with the Nein, and Dairon secretly picks up Jester at the airport to then show up at the Chateau's doors with her in tow, surprising the hell out of Marion.

Dairon receives a similar visit from Beauregard as they walk to their usual table at the Chateau's restaurant, finding their adopted-like daughter sitting comfortably with Yasha at her side and Marion grinning like a madwoman in front of them.

They are leisure and business visits at the same time, because shop talk is inevitable when they're all spies, but Marion never seems to mind.

They are all making good way with their leads on the Angels of Iron, and Dairon and Marion are constantly reassured that Marion is still safe since the Gentleman has left town and found refuge in Turkey, and Dairon sighs in relief every time Beau confirms no one seems to suspect they're actually still alive.

"We still don't have enough information to close in on them." Beau tells them one time, on a rare occasion where Jester, Fjord, Beau and Yasha all manage to find themselves in Paris at the same time.

Dairon nods, and Marion simply waves for another bottle of wine.

"Soon, my darling child." Marion promises, and Beau smiles gently at her. Dairon knows the kid way too well to not notice the way Beau's shoulder seem to lose a bit of tension every time Marion acts to motherly towards her.

Dairon wraps their arm around Marion's waist as they wave goodbye at the four kids from their balcony at the Chateau.

Beau and Yasha walk hand in hand in the middle of the Parisian street, followed by a dancing Jester and a laughing Fjord.

"Did you ever think we were going to adopt all of them, one day?" Dairon half-jokes, and Marion giggles, hiding her face in Dairon's neck. When she's not wearing heels, she's much shorter than them.

"Never." she admits. "Not that I mind."

"Having seven unhinged young-adults to look after?"

The moon reflects in Marion's eyes when she turns to look at them.

"Being a parent with you." she says, bluntly, honestly, and Dairon's jaw drops.

"Flies don't make a good snack, darling." Marion chuckles, placing two fingers under Dairon's chin to force their mouth closed. Once it does, she presses a quick kiss to their lips.

"Are you implying...?"

Marion shrugs, snuggling closer and looking out towards a half asleep Paris.

It's been almost thirteen months, and yet Dairon doesn't think they could ever get used to that view.

"I'm not implying anything." Marion murmurs. "I'm just putting ideas into the universe for the future. I have no interest in bearing a child, my darling, nor, I assume, do you."

Marion shrugs, her hand lazily caressing Dairon's chest.

"We lead dangerous lives. That much is true. We are far from being safe, and even once the A of I are out of the picture I doubt you would just... Retire from the scene."

Dairon thinks about it for a brief moment, then nods.

"I don't think I ever wanted to, no." they confirm.

Marion hums, like she wasn't expecting anything different.

"Precisely. No, I'm not talking about a baby." Dairon feels her smiling against her shoulder. "Maybe a teen. Someone we can help and rescue. Someone who just needs a roof, a family, and who should not grow out of the system."

Dairon's shoulders tense. The wording feels way too specific.

"Who told you?" they murmur, without any real anger behind their words. Only the usual, instinctual response of a past that will never stop haunting them.

"Fjord." Marion admits freely. "He also grew out of the system, and he mentioned you might as well. He is pretty good at picking up these things, I must say. My daughter is lucky to have him."

Dairon swallows, feeling their throat very dry, all of a sudden.

"Not even Beauregard knows, I don't think." they murmur after a while.

"I would never tell her." Marion promises, and Dairon believes her.

"I never really thought I would be a parent." Dairon whispers, eyes fixated on the horizon. If they focus hard enough, they might be able to spot the minuscule dots that are Beauregard and Yasha walking away.

"And yet..."

"And yet, that obnoxious child has plummeted in my life when I least expected it." Dairon grunts, making Marion laugh.

"Darling Beau is not obnoxious, Dairon." she pokes at them. "She is much more similar to you than you would ever like to admit, so if anything, she's just as obnoxious as you."

Dairon scoffs, but they can't hide the laugh behind it.

"You are impossible."

Marion hums in agreement.

For the longest time, silence hangs comfortably between them.

The gentle breeze envelopes them, and Marion's evening dress floats gently with it. Marion hides her face in Dairon's neck and Dairon presses a kiss on the top of her head.

Finally, a smile tugs at their lips.

"A teenager will be a lot of work." they murmur. "But I think we'll handle it."

Marion's breath itches, and the woman presses her face against Dairon's skin.

"Oh, my love..."

[justahumblebard]

Feelings

Mollymauk Tealeaf x Monk Fem!Reader 

      He was like the sun. He was bright and colorful and tried to make the world better wherever he went. You do not remember when it happened, but after traveling with the colorful teifling you fell head over heels for him; not that you would ever tell him that. You groan and let your head hit the table of the Leaky Tap. You watched as Mollymauk flited around the room talking and flirting with whomever he found interesting; you return your head to the table not acknowledging your fellow monk sitting next to you.

      “What’s up with you?” She raises a pierced eyebrow at you.

      “I am having feelings that I don’t want to acknowledge.” You mumble into the table.

      “Do those feelings have to do with your obvious crush on Molly” Beau was never one to beat around the bush.

      “Thanks for announcing it to the whole table Beau.” You grumble, luckily the only person currently with you was Caleb who was not paying attention.

      “Eh. You wanna go hit shit?” she gestures to the door with her thumb. You stand up straightening out your skirt.

      “We need to let someone know where we are going.” Your eyes skim around the room for the rest of The Mighty Nein.

      “Are you heading to the Archive?” a heavily accented voice asked.

      “Do you want to go to the library Caleb?” you laugh at his poorly hidden attempt to find a reason to accompany you two to the Cobalt Soul.

     “Bitte.” He mumbles shyly. Beau left the two of you to tell Fjord where you three would be.

      The walk from the Leaky Tap was awkward for the three of you. Beau offered some awkward and uncomfortable advice on how you should handle your crush. Caleb walked silently behind you, you trusted him not to say anything to Molly, but he let Beau continue to prattle.

      After leaving Caleb in the library proper, Beau and you seek out Dairon. Luckily for the two of you the elf is currently present at the archive. Training is hard but nothing that you are not used to. It is good to just be able to spar with Dairon and Beau again. You eventually loose track of time; beaten and bruised you and Beau drag Caleb away from the library with promises to return soon. Making your way back to The Leaky Tap is a slower journey than the trip there. Caleb gently places a hand on your shoulder before you head into The Leaky Tap.

       “You should tell Molly how you feel.”  His voice is soft you almost did not hear the statement.

      “And make things awkward in the group. Caleb it is too big of a risk.” You smile sadly at the wizard.

      “The you have obviously missed the way his eyes follow you.” He gives you a pat on the shoulder and heads into the tavern.

       You sigh before heading in yourself. Eyes skimming the noisy tavern; you find The Nein sitting together at a table Caleb just taking a seat between Nott and Fjord. You make your way over to the table and sit down next to Jester.

      “Where did you three go?” Jester questioned looking between Beau, Caleb, and you.

      “Cobalt soul. Y/N and I had some monk shit to do and Caleb wanted to visit the library” Beau shrugs.

      “Monk shit. So eloquent Beauregard.” Molly sasses from his seat next to Fjord.

       “Bite me.” She growlers.

       “Only if you ask nicely.” He grins exposing sharp fangs. Beau mumbles a few incoherent, before flipping him the bird and walking over to the bar.

      Molly’s eyes eventually find yours; widening at the impressive shiner you are sporting thanks to a stray blow from Dairon.

      “What happened to you pretty face Dear?” he leans over the table grabbing your face between his hands turning your face from side to side as if examining you for more damage.

      “Training accident.” You mumble as a blush begins to form across your cheeks. Molly pouts for a second before releasing your face and returning to his side of the table.

       Dinner is an awkward affair as more people fill into The Leaky Tap. There is tension between you and Molly, and it seems like all of your companions have picked up on it. Eventually the group disperses out. Beau leaving to start shit; Fjord following her to prevent it from happening. Jester found a card game to join. Nott slipped of to gods knows where; Caleb stays with you at the table. Molly moves across the room making new friends along the way. Soft music fills the air from a traveling bard; Molly eventually makes his way back to the table holding out a hand to you.

      “Dance with me Dear?” He smiles down at you.

      “There’s no one else dancing.” You stutter out.

      “That doesn’t matter.” He holds a hand to you again.

      You take his hand, and he twirls you into his chest. He leads you into a slow waltz holding you tightly to him. You pray he can’t feel your heart pounding into your chest. He smiles down at you and red eyes lovingly gaze into yours.

      “Gods I love you.” The words spill from your mouth before your brain can process them.

       “Well, thank the Moonweaver.” He stops dancing and places a hand under your chin. He tilts your head up and brings his lips to yours in a passionate kiss “I love you too.”

       You rise onto your toes and kiss him again not caring about the others around you. From their various places around the tavern the rest of your merry band of misfits watch on smiles across their faces as coin passes between a few members.

[walkthegale]

Rating: Explicit Category: F/F Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Relationships: Beau/Dairon (background implied Beau/Yasha, Beau/Jester. and Beau/Jester/Yasha) Additional Tags: Femslash, Smut, Mentor/Protégé, Light Dom/sub, Fingerfucking, Oral Sex, Library Sex, Sparring Words: 3,372 Summary: The next time the Nein show up at the Archive in Zadash, Dairon’s there. Beau would have been less surprised to see them just about anywhere else in Wildemount.

Written for @fireferns for @femslashex 2020!

[potatoesandsunshine]

truly incoherent late-night ramblings about the mighty nein and pride under the cut. an unorganized stream of consciousness basically. i’m so tired i have so many Thoughts

cad saying tonight that nobody in the m9 is vain (can’t remember if he said “none of us are vain” or “none of you are vain” but i’m going with the first one bc i can’t watch it again till it goes up on yt) really got me thinking because my immediate reaction was “no? that’s not true?” but i couldn’t figure out why exactly i thought that - so naturally i spent the rest of the episode pondering it.

like... the members of the mighty nein are each in their own way juggling a massive load of insecurity and in some cases just pure self-loathing but they’re still very... they’re not vain, but they are proud to the point of arrogance which is just super interesting from a character perspective (just wanna note here this is not a “and this makes x character A Bad Person” hot take or whatever, characters have character flaws and that’s what makes them interesting to me, please don’t come to my inbox saying i hate fjord or caleb or caduceus or veth or jester or beau or yasha because that’s just not the case) anyway imo yasha is currently the only one who hasn’t shown a big moment of this flaw, everybody else has. yes it’s possible i don’t remember a moment for yasha at this second but tbh she’s spent so much time getting controlled by other forces this campaign like :( give yasha a break challenge :( she gets one from this post

early on beau had her kind of rebel without a cause, too cool for school thing going on - to me that’s a kind of pride? like it came from a feeling of isolation and disconnect from the people around her and the structures her life had operated in and also the idea that “i’m the only one who sees how bullshit everything is” that’s (at least in my own experience) a really common feeling in late teens/early twenties. honestly the first moment that shook her out of it was dairon imo (i know that a lot of beau’s change is attributed to molly’s death but i honestly think it started back with that brawl in the warehouse) and dairon has continued to be a (flawed themselves) check against arrogance for beau which is really interesting to me? anyway continuing

fjord’s whole persona that kinda wasn’t a persona during the pirates arc (i’m talking specifically about the captain pursuing his own ends, not about the accent thing) was very much a character based on knowing more about the world than everybody else did, even though i don’t think fjord himself believed it? honestly for all that you can say about fjord i think he’s lowest on the list in terms of pride (besides yasha!! who isn’t on this list!!) bc he’s very honest about the fact that he often feels like he just does not know what’s going on around him. props to that bc it is hard to do.

veth’s biggest Moment of this (and pride just doesn’t feel like the right word but i don’t know how else to capture the meaning, the idea of Knowing Better than everyone else i guess? you know what i mean) that i can think of is the letter to astrid in zadash that everyone screamed about bc caleb was the current fandom favorite sadboi at the time; it was such a big moment of trying to arrange someone else’s life for them that’s like. like it’s a Big Moment idk how to explain it. i think a lot of the responsibility she feels for yezza and luc also relies on the premise that she Knows Best which again is super interesting because it clearly causes her a lot of guilt that she’s not doing Enough for them in her own eyes when it’s like... like... talk to each other... idk idk i have Feelings about the brenattos. Arranging the lives of other people, no matter your intentions, is imo a thing that comes from thinking you Know Better than they do. 

caleb... i so do not want to re-litigate the disintegrate discourse that was imo truly a waste of time last week but i do agree with the idea that caleb’s got ye olde mythological-level hubris. the man has a goal of turning back time to rewrite his own mistakes and like it’s not just a dream it’s a Goal He’s Working Towards which means that either 1) he believes it’s possible for him to do it or 2) he can’t admit that it isn’t possible and he has to live with ‘his’ mistakes (i can’t get into the caleb stuff rn but uhhh it’s not as much a personal failing as you believe it is caleb). both of these viewpoints are like. so dependent on viewing himself as A Power That Affects The Universe instead of someone who is affected by it which is kind of the sentiment i’m trying to get at idk idk it’s late i’m tired

it’s interesting with jester and caduceus for a couple reasons but the fact that they’re both literally blessed by gods is like... like i can’t say they’re unduly proud (i don’t really think that any of the m9 are like unduly proud) because they’re literally made More Important by the deities of the setting from the moment of introduction but we do still see really interesting stuff from both of them imo

caduceus thinks he knows better than everybody else which is something i think we’ve seen from the beginning as well? that’s part of why he’s kind of set himself up as the Wise Councilor of the group (and if you ask me, why he seems unable to reach out for support of his own - all the instances of someone digging deeper into him were instigated by other people from what i can remember right now) and it’s been neat to see him reconciling things he Knows Are Right from his time in the cemetery with a more complicated reality in the wider world. it’s hard for me to say that cad’s arrogant because he thinks he’s privy to the literal divine plan when he is privy to an actual divine plan thanks to the wildmother but i think it’s interesting to see it in the small moments. we saw it more earlier i think? but like this part of his character isn’t Gone. as long as he’s got himself designated as the group moral compass i think there’s an element of this in play. 

and jester ohh jester i love u i’m so sorry everything has been so hard for so long like aaaa imagine you find out your best friend (who is also your god) has been lying to you for all of your friendship and also lying to all of his followers (because it turns out he’s not a god, technically) that’s so hard anyway. anway. i don’t wanna derail into talking about how much i love jester but i love her ok? ok. anyway jester’s current defense mechanism is retreating into the fact that she’s the best follower of the traveler and he loves her the most, because she’s Special (which again, her god told her this there’s literally nothing i can say against it) but we’re seeing that kind of fracture in an interesting way if you ask me? because the fact of the matter is, whenever jester asks a question about ‘the followers of the traveler’ she is implicitly also asking a question about herself (this is why i was so fascinated by her convo with fjord tonight also). it only works for So Long to keep repeating that you’re special when you’re not sure about it anymore oh jester i am so worried about u ohhh :( i am so sleepy but i have so many thoughts

[sterisladrian]

beauregard: a Critical Role playlist

the tracklist:

a better son/daughter/rilo kiley

teenagers/my chemical romance

ambulance/eisley

ain’t it fun/paramore

me vs. the world/halo friendlies

you’re gonna go far kid/the offspring

bad reputation/joan jett & the blackhearts

hit me with your best shot/pat benatar

fuck you/lily allen

kiss with a fist/florence + the machine

captain’s dead/the coathangers

strange sight/kt tunstall

fuckin’ perfect/p!nk

bulletproof/la roux

white flag/joseph

my other M9 playlists: caleb widogast (x) caduceus clay (x)

song explanations below the cut (spoilers for campaign 2)

a better son/daughter/rilo kiley “but you'll fight and you'll make it through/you'll fake it if you have to and/you'll show up for work with a smile” the quintessential beau song. contending with the expectations of her parents, trying to be a good friend, struggling through the pain. teenagers/my chemical romance “teenagers scare/the living shit out of me/they could care less/as long as someone'll bleed” beau’s rebellious years in kamordah

ambulance/eisley “is it really safe to say/that we're just made that way/made to brave the pain?” beau, kicked out of her home, rejected by her father, and forced to join the Cobalt Soul ain’t it fun/paramore “ain't it fun/living in the real world?/ain't it good/being all alone?”   beau, on her own in the real world for the first time me vs. the world/halo friendlies “I’m trying to be nice, I'm trying to be reasonable/but it’s oh so hard when I don't want to be” beau’s adjustment to the Cobalt Soul--the attitude adjustment isn’t going as well as hoped you’re gonna go far kid/the offspring “with a thousand lies/and a good disguise/hit 'em right between the eyes” beauregard lionett, reckless fighter and a terror to behold bad reputation/joan jett & the blackhearts “a girl can do what she wants to do and that's what I'm gonna do” beau’s early time with the Mighty Nein; the freedom of the open road and not having to care about a bad reputation hit me with your best shot/pat benatar “knock me down, it's all in vain/I get right back on my feet again” early fights with dairon: for early beau, there’s not always a strong distinction between love and war fuck you/lily allen “cause we hate what you do/and we hate your whole crew/so, please don't stay in touch” a song for lorenzo and the iron shepherds kiss with a fist/florence + the machine “a kick in the teeth is good for some/a kiss with a fist is better then none” a song for keg captain’s dead/the coathangers “easy come and easy go/what you reap is what you sew” a song for avantika, from captain tusktooth’s first mate beauregard strange sight/kt tunstall “you have a cold heart/you're reckless and distant/but I'll be persistent/I will understand you” a song for yasha fuckin’ perfect/p!nk “made a wrong turn, once or twice/dug my way out, blood and fire/bad decisions, that's alright/welcome to my silly life” a song for the mighty nein; beau has seen them do great things, and she’s there to support them bulletproof/la roux “this time, baby, I'll be bulletproof” beau the warrior, growing stronger with every battle white flag/joseph “I could surrender but I'd/just be pretending, no I'd/rather be dead than live a lie” with the Mighty Nein at her side, beau will never surrender

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note: the timeline of these playlists doesn’t cover the full campaign up to the present