#grog you piece of shit

[gior-gio]

Random person that is not even my type: *says one nice thing to me once*

Me: I will develop a crush so big on you that it will traumatize me for life

[utilitycaster]

How would you rank each of the PCs endings against each other? I feel like I have a pretty good guess who's end up at the rock bottom but I'm curious about the rest. Thank you for the time!

So I'm not sure if you mean Bells Hells only or everyone but I'll do everyone. No one fully fails for me, actually, but there's a LOT of low-tier shit. Also I don't know what Fy'ra is up to so I can't speak to her and she is not included.

S tier: All of the Mighty Nein (includes Molly) whose stories were not significantly changed; FCG; Pike, Grog, and Scanlan; presumably Taryon; honestly for me Morrighan; Bor'Dor in that his ending was interesting.

A tier: Deanna, FRIDA, presumably Prism, Dariax and Deni$e. Percy and Vex; this is a drop from their pre-C3 S-tier because the way that they had both largely moved on with her life and Keyleth hadn't was an interesting dynamic, and while the people who made a big fucking deal about Vax mostly focusing on Keyleth and not Vex in his role as Champion struck me as deeply unwell weirdos, bringing Vax back actually does kind of like, show the cracks in that dynamic. I still very much love their story but it's been weakened slightly. I would also put Braius here; being in only a small part of the story and having clear goals really worked for him.

B tier: Chetney, Fearne, Orym, Dorian. I wish that the story had done more justice to their character concepts and that their plot hooks had actually been explored in depth, and Orym and Dorian in particular feel ill-served by both having a lack of consequences that feels justified but is weakened by the overall narrative never having consequences for anyone, but I like their endings and I can see where they follow from.

C tier: Ashton, Imogen, Laudna. I don't dislike where their characters ended up - in fact, I genuinely was pleasantly surprised by where Ashton ends up, though "dying in their first genuinely heroic move after so much posturing" would have shot them up to at least B-tier if not A-tier - but it all feels entirely unearned and empty. Somehow, in a story where Imogen was constantly at the center, I feel her concept, which was a strong one initially, still feels unexplored given how poorly she inhabited her decisions and how little philosophical grounding she had; and I've said my piece about Laudna.

D tier: Vax and Keyleth; self-explanatory.

edited: forgot Opal, she is also D-tier; wholly unearned freedom from everything Lolth did, seemingly unaffected by the loss of her memories, what the fuck was that honestly

[railroad-migraine]

In honour of Legend of Vox Machina coming out, can we have a Percy x (fem/gender neutral) reader with the prompt "You feel like home to me." Maybe reader also lost their home (or they were from Whitestone too)

'Welcome Home'

-> Percy x GN!Reader

Notes: Angst and fluff, hurt comfort. I started writing this piece in January 2022. As of June 2023, I have now watched TLOVM. Sorry it took a while Anon, but I wanted to save your lovely request for when I eventually got into Vox Machina 💙 Can be read as platonic or romantic

~ Poet

*****

It wasn't meant to be like this.

Things had not gone to plan. What was the plan, you say? That is debatable depending on who you'd ask.

To start, Vax was unfortunately spotted skulking around the enemy's camp. That then lead to small confrontation, one that he'd be fine to handle all by himself, one where he was suspiciously poked and prodded at innocently, but Keyleth instinctually stepped in to save him - thus getting the whole party involved and quickly overwhelmed. It was manageable until the exact moment where Grog lopped off the head of one of the bandits.

To put it simply, all hell broke loose and it all went to shit.

However, in the end, when the bandits lay dead and smloldering by the campfire, it was a victory for Vox Machina.

A victory, maybe. But not quite a win.

Wounds were in need of tending to, and Pike was far too exhausted to treat everyone. Camping in the woods did not seem to be the best option, the trees offering little cover, and neither did the cliff face nearby. Frustrated, tired, hungry - voices raising at each other prickled the hairs at the back of your neck and you knew you had to step up. To be the adult.

"There is a village," you start, but no one chooses to listen, your voice just another one in the argument.

"There is a village," you repeat, a little more firm and insistant, and the others begin to withdraw, eyes falling onto you, "not far from here. I- I didn't mention it before because it doesn't belong on the map. Not anymore, at least.

"We can go there, set up camp, sit down and just shut up for a few hours," you sigh.

Most of the party look hesitant but Scanlan raises a brow and shrugs with an easy nonchalance that you envy. "If you say it's safe, I'm down."

It wasn't meant to be like this.

"It is." You hope. "I promise.

Percy watches you carefully, the fading light of the Sun behind him casting shadows on his face, sharpens his already sharp jawline even further until it cuts into his coat's collar. Something dangerous in his expression. "Lead on, then," but he doesn't sound convinced.

And so you lead your friends to the home and earth that once nurtured your childhood, the very same that you abandoned all those years ago in favour of adventure.

You were still young. Like a child, scarrless, soft, green and new to the greater world that waited for you beyond your doorstep.

It wasn't meant to be like this, you think as you fall to your knees, taking in the grim sight before you. It's hard to tell what exactly happened, whether the homes had been raided and intentionally burned down, or if it had been a simple accident and the townspeople luckily fled somewhere safe.

How long had it been since you left home? What seemed like yesterday were many, many months for your people, and anything can happen in that time apart.

But you never expected to be returning home to a graveyard.

It wasn't meant to be like this.

"I'm sorry."

You sniffle and quickly wipe your nose with the sleeve of your shirt, choking back a bitter laugh. "Percy." He pulls his mouth into a straight line, a grimace of sorts. "You can be a thorn in my side at times, but why should you be sorry?"

He shifts his weight on his feet. "Because... because it's what people might have said to me when I was in a similar state. I'm not sure if it would ever have made me feel better, but I suppose it shows some level of... respect. Condolences. Comfort, sometimes. Or so I've heard."

He pulls his coat tighter around his torso, the bite in the air unforgiving even as you mourn for your childhood home while your knees press into dirt. You risk a glance up at his face, and his forlorn expression shatters your already broken heart. He feigns a weak smile, and ducks his chin in sympathy. "It's not for everyone, I suppose."

It's a cold comfort as your grip on the ashes of your home loosens, and slips through your fingers, like sand lost in the wind.

Percy says your name, clear and grounding, and you manage to tear your gaze from what's left of your history. "Look at me." You crane your neck to look to where he looms over your hunched form. "Home is a feeling... I know that more than anybody."

Slowly, so slowly and gentle as if caught in slow motion, he crouches down to meet your height. He appraises you for a hesitant moment, then reaches out to wipe a tear that trails down your cheek, one that you had accidentally neglected. It smears across your skin smoothly, leaving a clean line in the thin layer of dust you had acquired since the battle and trek over here.

He looks at you softly, and you nearly sob from the incredible amount of emotions you feel all at once. You grip his hand like a lifeline and press it into your face so that you can lean into the comfort he's providing, and a shudder washes over you at the warmth radiating from his glove.

Percy nudges your chin up with his free hand, and you have no choice but to meet his watery eyes.

"And you feel like home to me."

In that moment, you know you feel the same for him.

*****

[posts this and RUNS]

[write-it-motherfuckers]

Well, that was a much bigger shitstorm than I had been expecting.

First of all, kid's ok, they just kept him over night because he's so young and concussions are a bit more of a risk, especially given his extensive medical history. Thankfully though, he seems to be on the mend, and he should be home by the time you Darlings are seeing this post.

As for why you're seeing this post, originally I was just meant to be playing emergency babysitter until the dad finished work and got home, but unfortunately he's just as big of a piece of shit as he usually is (Why they're still together and actively having more kids I have no idea) and decided that since someone was already with the kids, then instead of rushing home like he was asked to by his wife, he was going to make the best of it and go out drinking with his friends.

Both his wife and his elderly mother in law tried to contact him, but after the third set of calls, he turned off his phone. Not once did he ask who was with his kids, or how his injured son was, all he cared about was going out and drinking. (I sincerely hope she leaves his arse soon. Holy shit)

The mum did apologise to me repeatedly, but since their only living family is her elderly mother who is by no means capable of looking after five kids under the age of seven, she really didn't have a choice but to rely on me until her or her (shitty) husband could return home. And for obvious reasons, she couldn't exactly leave a four year old in the hospital by himself.

In the end, the "dad" didn't get home until about nine am this morning, stinking of grog, and I don't feel comfortable leaving them with him. I did quickly head back and grab a charger for my phone so that I could type this up, but since the youngest ones will be waking from their after feed nap soon, and the mum is still a way's off from getting back, I'm probably not going to have time to sort through my reblogs properly.

On a small positive note though, it does look like all my stuff is back now, so I should be able to go back to posting older reblogs tomorrow. For now, I'm just going to focus on the kids and then go back and crash into my own bed.

Thank you for your understanding and patience, Darling ones. Please remember to take care of yourselves 🖤

[scythlyven-art]

What Disney songs do you think would fit the Vox Machina cast (and by extension their allies)?

My mind immediately went to I’ll Make a Man out of You for Grog. I’m picturing a montage of him trying to toughen up the group to win some contest at a festival and him being disappointed that they can’t lift 400 pounds like he can. But I also get Hakuna Matata or The Bear Necessities (both of these could also work for Scanlan)

Vex by herself is 100% Reflection- talking a lot about the mask she wears trying to be someone else

Vax by himself gets One Jump Ahead

Vex and Vax on a more despressing side could get One of Us in relation to their father being a racist piece of shit towards them

Scanlan I get Go The Distance vibes or Friend Like Me

Keyleth gets Just Around the Riverbend or Colors of the Wind

Ngl I’m finding it very difficult to think of any songs for Pike or Percy idk

[waltwhitmansbeard]

this is literally all i could think about on my drive to work today so i present to you

what cars would vox machina drive?

keyleth: you know she's a subaru girlie, olive green and dented (bc lbr keyleth would not be the best driver) and covered in just ALLLL the bumper stickers, for state parks and liberal politicians from like two decades ago and charities she doesn't even remember donating to (she has three different "who saved who?" bumper stickers and she doesn't know how she got any of them). there's a rattle that starts whenever she gets over 40 mph but she's choosing to ignore it.

percy: this is an old money bitch so you know he has a bunch of cars, mercedes and aston martins and bentleys, but i think his go-to is a brick of a rolls royce, dark gray bc black is too obvious

vax: an olllllllld black thunderbird that is absolutely falling apart, just a complete hazard to have on the roads, but vax pours any excess dollar he has into keeping the piece of shit running bc he loves it so much

vex: a sensible, clean honda civic sport (blue) that has every single bell and whistle offered but that she negotiated down to $10k below the sticker price. she will drive this thing into the fucking ground before she gets a new one. the back seat has a special protector/sling thing for trinket.

pike: just the most absolute unit of a gargantuan pick-up truck you can imagine. something that no self-respecting construction professional would even drive, just so fucking mammoth that the TIRES are taller than pike. she has special electric stairs that descend so she can get in. she has this because a) she is a monster and she deserves it and b)

grog failed his driver's test (both written and practical) six times before just giving up, so he just goes wherever pike goes

scanlan: a tricked-out cadillac he had specially painted the most gnarly shade of purple with sparkling gold rims and LED lights along the undercarriage that are linked to his illegal stereo that he is always bumping way too loud with the windows down. just a fucking pimpmobile of a vehicle. leather seats that you do NOT want to look at under a black light and special hidden compartments for the contraband he insists he has but absolutely does not.

tary: this twunk drives a gold porsche 911, and he hates giving his friends rides when they need one but when he does, he makes them take their shoes off. do NOT ask him for the aux, it is a waste of your time. he is an insanely reckless driver, and once he finally wrecks the porsche for good, he's shocked to learn how much they cost (this one was a gift), so vex drags him kicking and screaming to honda to get him a civic of his own (not as nice as hers bc without daddy's money he definitely can't afford it).

[innocent-cat]

Hello! if you're still taking request could it be a crossover headcanons of vox machina x mha, were there member is like shoto todoroki or vox machina x one piece were there member is like nico robin. Which one do you prefer? Its okay for me.

Hiii! I'd be more than willing to write a "fire/ice curse" headcannon ;)

Vox Machina x Reader Head Canons

Warnings - none?

"Cold shoulder.", Vox Machina x Reader

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

Okay, so the entire team has their own negatives that everyone seems to like.. make a good thing and use it to their advantage?

Obviously, for plot reasons, you have Shoto's family trauma too.

They have NEVER seen your ice/fire curse as something to be looked down upon, but they never really tried to convince you it isn't.

I feel like they'd be too awkward about it knowing the background LMFAO

Because of this, you just kind of thought they were equally as ashamed of you as you were with yourself.

It's some powerful magic shit so they try to tell you to be careful about it, you took it the wrong way

You eventually end up talking to Keyleth about it, and she started squabbling about it to you nervously because she thought she offended you

In all actuality, they all love you and enjoy your company.

They think its cool when you do ice tricks.

It obviously took you a while to warm up to them with fire magic, and its always nice to have around winter.

Pike specifically asks you to warm a lot of stuff up for her, since you figured out how to just make your hands warm.

Usually things like socks, blankets, food, drinks, or for you to boil water in the middle of no where.

It's always a funny conversation to have with her.

"Heyyy.. uhmmm... You mind-"

You take the item and already start heating your hands up.

"No. No I do not."

You love being helpful to them ˙◠˙

Percy likes to bring you to his little workshop and make you his assistant, he finds its much easier to make weaponry or contraptions with someone who can help him bend metal.

"Hands?"

You stick your hands out, and he places a long, thin, spiral of metal on them.

"Thank you." You hum. in response to him.

Percy is so thankful to you out of all of them. He says thank you for every little thing.

if you feeling a little romantical about himm... he says thank you when you hold his hand in the cold or his face in the cold #cuties

BUT ANYWAY

Grog doesn't get it.

I mean, if I was him, I wouldn't either.

With all honesty, he's just worried for you.

At one point you overheard a conversation with him and Pike.

"Are they okay Pikey??? They just lit on fire and shot ice at the same time..˙◠˙"

"Yes, Grog, thats just they're magic.."

(At that point, Pike tried explaining it 13 times to him, and it was 4am)

Vex and Vax are utterly ridiculous about it.

Least petty twin siblings, honestly.

Vex asked you to light her arrow on fire so she could shoot Vax's coat 'accidentally' and burn it.

To be fair, in her defense, he asked you to freeze her gold chest lock so he could steal from her..

At one point, when you were still learning, You froze one of Keyleth's plants, and she got a brain freeze for a solid 15 seconds.

"Oh my GOSH! Keyleth I am so sorry oh my gosh.."

"No-no.. its okayy.. he was almost dead anyway.."

She said, holding her head, groaning from the severe brain freeze she suddenly got.

Req pt 2 if this gets popular, but add who u want more of ;)

[taste-of-the-divine]

ꕤ | Who's Begging Now? | Vax'ildan

— VOX MACHINA : cockysubby!vax'ildan x fdom!reader

✩ 𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙀: ​you put vax'ildan in his place, pretty little noises and all. ✩ 𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙏 𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙊: drabble, 1.2k words ✩ 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙉𝙏 𝙒𝘼𝙍𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙂: vax'ildan recieves + reader gives : dubcon, somnophelia, overstimulation, humiliation, degredation, deep throat, sex drugs, messy spit/saliva, begging to cum, orgasm denial/edging, ruined orgasm, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, aftercare // reader recieves + vaildan gives: deepthroat on vax's cock, gagging, humiliation outside the bedroom, being called ma'am.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ 𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀𝙎 𝙁𝙍𝙊𝙈 𝘿𝙄𝙑𝙄𝙉𝙀: this was supposed to be way shorter but i got carried away but likes and reblogs are super appreciated :’)

𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘌 𝘝𝘖𝘟 𝘔𝘈𝘊𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘈 | 𝘔𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛 & 𝘖𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘒𝘚 | 𝘔𝘠 𝘗𝘈𝘎𝘌

vax’ildan has been acting out of line lately— he’s bold, flirtatious, he’s always been so— but something’s changed, you can feel it. he’s gotten cocky. he talks back a little more now, he intentionally towers over you when you sit at the end of the bed. he pushes you to your knees now, too, places his cock on your lips and cheeks and smears it over those plump lips of yours that he loves so much— ah, correction: that he loves fucking, ramming, bruising, so much, with the base of his heavy cock. the feeling of his pubes tickling your lips and you gagging at the same is a familiar one— so much so that dick nuzzling isn’t practical anymore.

he enjoys being in charge; you enjoy letting him think he’s in charge. but now he’s getting too cocky— you hear him bragging to scanlan, grog, pyke, gilmore, anyone that would listen, about how he forces you to the floor, how you turn into putty in his hands, how you beg for him to fuck you like you want no one else’s cock but his.

but you know it’s all a fucking lie. what a pathetic piece of shit. fucker needs to be put in his place, so the next morning, right before he wakes up, you find secure cuffs for his wrists and ankles from somewhere in the house. he’s still sleeping but his cock is throbbing under the thin fabrics of his boxers, leaking precum at the tip. you mouth at him through the boxers first, and then you pull him free and take his whole cock into your mouth.

he wakes with a groan, tugs on the handcuffs. how fucking pathetic. fitting for you, you say, lifting off his cock. he’s incredibly hard, his hips bucking involuntarily, looking for the warm wet of your mouth and his mind is muddled, foggy, can only think about cumming. you drugged his drink the night before, just an aphrodisiac. he had a lesson to learn, and you had to teach him, all means necessary.

you jerk his cock— he moans and tugs at the cuffs— until his balls are tight and he goes light headed from how much blood is pumping through it, keeping it big and heavy. the veins pop angry and blue and purple, throbbing in your hand. his cock is as much of a drooling mess of precum over your fingers as is he is— head rolled back, lips parted, panting and begging you to drag your hands on the underside because that’s all he needs to cum. you don’t, because he forgot to say please, so instead, he says your name in prayer as his eyes goes crossed when you let your spit dribble down your chin and slide onto his sensitive cock head. you love watching him like this, love watching his body spasm and jerk at every touch, watching that his stupid fucked out face and that stupid fucked our brain trying to ask for something he won’t get. his whimpers are starting to sound like crying, voice climbing in pitch. his skin is flushed so, so, so pretty, you tell him this, between scolding him and asking him who’s the one begging to cum now? who’s the one that’s desperate? im going to tell the others about how utterly embarrassing you are.

he knows his answers to these questions, cries, me, me, me, I’m desperate to cum, please, ma’am, please— please don’t tell the others, please please, i’m sorry— and then suddenly your hand are wrapped around his throat and he knows he just fucked up. his eyes are wide, taking in your pissed off and disgusted face, and he can’t help but almost cum from how ashamed he feels. his dick throbs against his stomach, but you keep your eyes on him. i wasn’t asking, you stupid pet, you spit in his face. and that name, his favorite name that you use to put him into his place— it’s enough to make him go over the edge with fluttering eye lids as his mouth falls open, panting like a dog and making broken vocal sounds as his hips go taught and he cums. his head feels like there’s a million stars in there wanting to burst right out of his cock, and his cock needs friction while he cums because even though he’s cumming it isn’t isnt enough to get rid of the aphrodisiac that makes his balls aching to cum again. he looks at you, a whimpering mess with tears in his eyes, begging with them for you to do something, to make this go away, please I need to cum again, he says with his hazel irises.

you take mercy on him, he seems to have learned his lesson— you grip his cock in your hand an pump once, and like that, he folds in on himself as much as his bound limbs let him, a cry forming from his chest as he cums a second time, this time so much incredibly harder than the first that he almost goes unconscious twice throughout it. his eyes are white, he can’t even breathe, hips and cock twitching into and in your hand as you smear his cum over his sensitive tip. eventually his chest fills with air, but his face looks like he'd been properly fucked in the ass even though you've only used your hands and mouth. so pathetic.

when you’re done with the fun you’re having with him, you leave him there, bound to the frame of the bed slick in his own sweat. he learned his lesson, so after a few minutes, you come back with a glass of water and some fresh snacks from the kitchen. you take his bruised wrists and ankles out of the cuffs, massaging the cuts and kissing them better, cuddling him as he stirs awake from his sex haze. you kiss him, remind him that he’s yours, you love him, but firmly tell him he has no place lying about who’s desperate in the bedroom. he nods his face into your chest, tears welling in the corners of his eyes that you kiss away, whispering in his ear that you love him all the same. his arms wrap around your waist tighter, muttering that he loves you too, thank you, thank you, thank you ma’am, i won’t do it again.

© copyright @taste-of-the-divine 2023 𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘌 𝘝𝘖𝘟 𝘔𝘈𝘊𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘈 | 𝘔𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛 & 𝘖𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘒𝘚 | 𝘔𝘠 𝘗𝘈𝘎𝘌

[marcussour]

C3E114 random bits and thoughts

2025 - MAKE MORE SMUT

"Hey guys, we're saving the world again", "What would they do without us"

Oh, I love that Percy's going full tinkerer with wind up toys that are secretly weapons

Love that Vex's first attack with the explosive arrow was a nat20.

Fuck, the giant vidulch is something else. And of course it's the Sunder King's mount.

"That's the 20th count of the initiative", MATTHEW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING

Oh, thankfully it was both nat 1s

I love Ashley's "GOOSH" sound effect

"Scanlan, what does your horse eyes see?"

I love that now's officially "Scanlan's Hand"

Vorak!

"That's what the nuns told me sex was like"

I expected nothing them from them than to burst into singing Manfred Mann's Earth Band's "Blinded by the Light"

The holy aura spell really was a life saver, since every enemy has been attacking with disadvantage and avoiding all the nat 20s

And of course the moment after I wrote that, Lieve'tel dropped concentration

"Here's what I'm gonna do" by Ashley Johnson

TRINKET!

DIVINE INTERVENTION! Lieve'tel is just, clutch

"You take 14 points of acid damage"; "we'll buy you some Pink Floyd"

Over 100 points of damage in a single round. High level barbarians are something else.

So the beacon was somewhat related to the Luxon

So long bloody bridge!

Scanlan's (and Sam's) hate for Trinket, will never stop being funny

That frenzied wrath that Ozo's has is crazy

OH NO VEX

Look, I know they can revive her still, and it wouldn't be Vox Machina without at least someone dying, but shit, that one hurt

See, she's back thankfully

Love Percy's long ass turn, just, unloading anything on Ozo to avenge Vex

"He's inside of you one last time", "Balls deep"; the more things change... etc, etc

VAX'ILDAN!

Rest in pieces Malleus Key

Of course Vax's first roll is a nat20

If I had a nickel for every time in this campaign that a priced mount/companion of a big boss enemy turned against them due to the actions of the party

THAT WAS THE MOST GROG WAY TO JUST WRECKING UP AN ENEMY, AMAZING

What would Scanlan do

Make it Funny, Make it Cool, Make it Perverted!

"Hey, you look like diseased genitalia. Tell me, does it burn when you urinate?", Robbie's a gift

Look at Vax just being back and cool as fuck

NGL, I wanted Scalan to keep the vidulch and just, take him whenever he rejoins his mid-midlife crisis escapades.

One night. Let's pretend everything's alright for one night.

I didn't expected a happy ending, but that was bittersweet.

I do have to say, besides Vax getting one night along with the group, it did left me with some questions. Because the whole conversation with the Raven Queen sounded like, maybe Vax can/might serve her in the material plane?

Also, what is going on in Issylra? The angels told them that they needed to regroup, and plan the next stage of the attack, possible on Ruidus? Like, is it prepping in case both Bells Hells and the Mighty Nein fail? Is it related to if/when Predathos awakens? Or is something else going on? Like, maybe Ludinus or someone else attacked Vasselheim while everyone was away? I don't think it was the broadcast of the message from Aeor since I imagine Vox Machina would've gotten it too. Lots of things that might happen.

Anyway, loved this mini arc or whatever we want to call it. Having Vox Machina again was just, the best.

Also, did Lieve'tel went with them to Whitestone? I imagine she did, if only so she could visit Bertrand's grave.

[revvethasmythh]

11, 12, and 13 for the fic writer asks?

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

oh boy, this is where i cop to the fact that I don't read a lot of fic LMAO. well, sometimes i skim a lot but also i'm incredibly picky, so the amount of fics i LOVE is...slim. there's one i read the other day that i actually did love, it's a snowfall kind of love by calypsid on AO3. it's a rookanis holiday fic, and tbh loved the characterization in it, it was well-written, sweet, funny. knocked it out of the park. this is probably the only recent fic i've really loved.

i just said in another ask that i don't reread fics generally, but i do find myself returning to this one every now and then and it's She taught me Touch by violetsandbirches on AO3. do you love your widobrave smut to come with a side of intense psychoanalysis? I do! hot smut, engaging characterizations, fun exploration of veth and caleb's evolving dynamic over the course of the campaign--it's all timer widobrave fic for me.

I haven't read this one in a while, but steady your breath, honey, lower your spear by friendly_ficus on AO3 really stuck with me since I first read it. THE grogleth fic, tbh. again, it's been a long time, but i remember REALLY enjoying the emotional exploration of Keyleth's grief and watching her and Grog get closer finding healthy ways for Keyleth to deal with her rage.

12. how does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

I feel like it completely depends on my mood and the day, like i am so inconsistent. generally, i don't think much of how much or any feedback i get on a piece. i love a comment (who doesn't?), but i'd put my shit on the internet even if i didn't get any. i did have one fic that got REALLY popular and i had a truckload of comments coming in every day and it was completely untenable and also extremely heartwarming on one level but simultaneously made me grateful for, like, the little group of widobraves that always show up in the comments of my wb fics because, much as the overwhelming response was novel and made me feel good, i'd take the 4-5 friendly faces i hang out with all the time over it any day. so, i suppose getting feedback/support doesn't have a huge impact on me, but support and feedback from my own small group of shippers undeniably has the MOST impact. i get those comments like "aw, the gang's all here :D" and it's great, that matters way more to me than any other feedback/support

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

Answered here!

Ask me a fic writing question!

[onyxbird]

No Strings Attached

Summary: Jarett may not usually fight alongside his employers, but he knows them well enough to know when something just isn't right. They do this all the time, so surely they have some kind of strategy for if their cleric gets possessed, right? Pike has an unusual strategy for being in two places at once, and she trusts her friends implicitly. If only they had that much trust in themselves. Also on AO3.

Jarett darted behind the piece of broken wall Vax was already huddled behind and dropped to a crouch next to him. Every line of Vax's form screamed stress.

“Vax. Not to complicate this already terrible situation, but…” Jarett grimaced, trying to figure out the right way to explain.

“Yes?” said Vax, distractedly. He stared apprehensively at the spot where Percy had just unloaded several shots into a wyvern, but his eyes did not track its movement, as if he was lost in his own thoughts. A flash briefly illuminated the battlefield, its radiance casting Vax and Jarett into even deeper shadow, as Pike fired off a spell and sprinted for the next piece of cover as fast as her short legs could carry her.

Jarett hesitated, wondering if he was making a mistake.

Vax glanced over at him, eyes focused again. “Yes, Jarett, what is it?”

“I think there is something wrong with Pike,” he blurted. “She is acting strangely; she does not sound like herself. We must be on guard. If something is possessing Pike and pretending to be her, this could be a trap for us all.”

Vax closed his eyes and dropped his forehead against the stone in front of him with a soft thud. “Fuck!”

A slight scrape of stone on the other side of the wall made his head snap up again. He exploded to his feet, flinging three daggers in quick succession to bury themselves to the hilt into the monster's head. It let out an ear-splitting screech, clawing at the dagger buried in one eye, and Vax bolted, grabbing Jarett by the back of his collar and dragging him along.

Jarett stumbled scrambling to keep up, until they reached a larger, intact wall and Vax crammed them both into a shadowed alcove, Jarett first.

Jarett eyed him warily. “You do not seem as surprised as I expected.”

Vax cautiously peeked out of the alcove, checking for enemies, and at first Jarett thought he wasn't going to answer. Then, satisfied with his check, he spun back to Jarett and leaned in close.

“She's not here.”

“What?”

“Pike's not here,” hissed Vax. “Well, her body is, but—She's checking out that tunnel while we keep them busy, looking for any way to collapse that contraption and stop it. Astral projection. We were going to leave her safely behind, but she insisted we needed a healer and that they might get suspicious if she wasn't fighting with us.”

Jarett blinked at him, stunned. “But—” The distinctive warmth of one of Pike's group healing spells washed over him, and a cut over Vax's eye closed up. “—then who is that?!”

“Vex,” said Vax, miserably. “And me. Pike figured out a way to let us basically puppet her around while her conscious focus is elsewhere.”

The boom of falling rocks from the middle of the battlefield made Vax flinch, and he frantically grabbed for his earring. “Vex, did you get her—?” Jarett couldn't hear the answer, but Vax's relieved sag against the wall made it clear enough: Pike had escaped the impact.

They both poked their heads out of the alcove, scanning for enemies. Vax's daggers combined with Jarett's crossbow sent one of the still-flying wyverns crashing into the dirt. It didn't move again, and its rider tumbled across the ground.

Jarett ducked back into cover. “Why you?” Of all the questions spinning through his head, it was probably the one that mattered the least.

Vax rattled off the answer without hesitation—clearly, it had been a point of discussion. “Keyleth and Percy don't get on with gods; Grog knows less about magic than even I do and spends most of battle in a rage, and Scanlan—”

“Is Scanlan. Say no more.”

“Yeah, well—Shit!” A flash of panic crossed Vax's face as his eyes unfocused once more. A moment later he blinked and muttered, clearly not to Jarett, “Yeah, mostly got her out. Still got clipped by part of the swing, though. Should she heal herself or try to hit the fucker before he can get another swing in?”

…

Pike skidded to a stop next to Jarett, grabbing his arm and healing him. “Hey. More guys coming up from the south. Can you get to that gate and get it barred so we don't have more of these fuckers to deal with? Vex and Grog will cover you.”

A shower of arrows from above peppered their nearest enemies as the shadow of Vex on her broom swept over.

“Uh, yes. Yes, of course.” Jarett looked down into Pike's blue eyes. Vax's accent and manner of speaking coming from Pike's mouth in Pike's voice was somehow even more unsettling than the twins' imperfect imitation of her own. From the corner of his eye, he could see Vax clinging for dear life to the back of the wyvern vigorously attempting to buck him and his daggers off.

“Thank you, darling,” said Pike, now with Vex's forced brightness. “Clear path between the pillar to your left and the rider impaled on a tree. Hurry.”

Pike darted back behind a wall next to another guard and reached for her earring, her tone sliding smoothly back into a bubbly approximation of Pike's usual voice. “OK, guys, who else needs healing?”

Grog, currently smoldering and with a worryingly large hole in one thigh, said “No rush, Pikey, but I could use a little smidge when you have a chance…”

“Sure thing, buddy!” chirped Pike.

…

There were no wyverns left, and most of their grounded riders were down, too, when there was a distant boom and a slight shudder in the ground. Friends and enemies alike reacted in apprehension, trying to place what had happened and whether it boded good or ill.

“Oh, wow,” said Pike suddenly. “That's—Ooo, gosh, you guys have been having a time of it, haven't you? How's everyone doing?”

Multiple heads whipped around to look at her. She doubled over, one hand pressed to a wound in her side from a claw that had slipped between armor plates.

“Pike!” A swirl of black feathers plummeted from the air like a meteor to land beside her. “Oh gods, are you all right? I'm so sorry. I—”

Pike gently batted away his extended hand before it could touch her shoulder. “I'm fine; I'm OK. Save it for someone in worse shape.” She beamed up at him despite tears of pain welling up in the corners of her eyes. “You did great.”

“You're hurt.”

“No worse than normal for our fights; it just caught me by surprise just now. And we did it!”

Vax crumpled to his knees and wrapped her in a hug with arms and wings alike.

A small gauntleted hand poked out through feathers to pat vaguely in the vicinity of Vax's back. “Hey… hey, it's OK. You guys did great. I knew you would. I knew I'd be fine.”

Vax huffed a laugh that sounded more like a sob. “I didn't. Don't ever do that to us again. I thought we were going to get you killed.”

[kaylor]

Is campaign 3 worth watching 😭 im somewhere near ep 45 and there have just been so many arcs that do nothing for me. The stakes feel absurdly high for uhh level .. 6? and i thought it would get good at some point but if they still cant make a plan by ep 80 i dont think i care to waste my time 😭😭

yuhhhh i don't know man. the malleus key and the fallout of it is pretty dope, and idk how many spoilers you've seen so i'll leave it there. but after that it gets very boring again i can't lie.

you're so right about the high stakes!! these characters haven't had any space to breathe or grow since like episode 20 or whenever it was they found out about predathos and the world ending. they've been chasing a plot they're not ready for without doing any of the character work that makes you care about their goal. it's difficult to see why the party is together in the first place because they don't talk to each other or have any reason care about each other (except fearne/orym and imogen/laudna but the latter is so bland it's actually painful).

the party doesn't gel, there's no motivations from anyone beyond orym having a personal stake in it. imogen is so wishywashy about everything. none of them care about the gods except FCG, and no one in the party cares about FCG. except ashton, who is played so passively and unpleasantly that it doesn't even matter. there's no caleb/vax doing his biweekly checkins with each party member to unlock new dialogue. there's no fjord/grog to make a buckwild (yet thematically relevant) decision to direct the party in any direction. there's no driving force behind any of these characters like sorry liam and travis, turns out if you take a backseat to let your friends have the spotlight, they will do sweet fuck all!!

another problem i think is how they're given so many pieces of the puzzle at once, whilst the big bad is already in play. i don't know if that was matt's intention, but it's led to them barely following up on any character driven plot points because, well, the world might end. so any extracurricular character development is nixed in favor of chasing a maxxed out uberbaddy who is almost definitely going to kill them. any cool character moments kind of happen in spite of rather than thanks to the events, and honestly feel a bit forced sometimes because the characters have all been so stagnant for so long, and honestly the most interesting things about the characters are their backstories, which have already happened. their current motivations are a mystery and none of them seem interested in learning more about each other. it just feels very awkward and stale.

PLUS, the stakes are absurdly high but also there are no consequences for anything!! laudna dying didn't feel important because it wasn't permanent! because they can apparently just ask a member of vox machina for a resurrection!!! absolutely bizarre choice from matt to allow that, if i'm being completely honest. like sorry i know that's your wife but marisha should be 40 episodes deep into her backup character by now because there's absolutely no way anyone in VM would agree to resurrecting a delilah briarwood puppet let's be so serious. the party (especially imogen) dealing with a PC death would have made for some really interesting development, and would have created an opportunity for imogen to either take a leadership role to get revenge on otohan, OR break bad and turn on the rest of the party. some delicious pvp. but unfortunately laura doesn't seem to know what to do with her character and therefore does nothing, so it felt extremely flat and meaningless, which kind of sums up c3 tbh. some of the highest stakes but barely a PC who gives a shit.

the past say 10 episodes have been a slog for only a handful of cool moments, so i really hope post episode 82 it picks up a bit. plot is fun and situations are fun but i'm struggling to care about any of these characters because it doesn't seem like any of the cast care about them either. which is a shame because some of them have huge potential, FCG is literally an aeormaton!!!! my god you have GOT to get into it. why is no one getting into it!!!! will someone PLEASE pick up what sam is putting down!!! the payoff is always so good!!!

[utilitycaster]

How Funny is it for Chetney to die on the Next Long Rest: 3x82

since I started this only last episode here is a link the previous edition to refresh your memories re: the vibe. Also only 15 minutes or so have passed since then which means most of that post is still entirely relevant. It's okay though because for my own entertainment I have added a bonus feature at the bottom:

Hilarity considerations:

Just hard-carried the thinking of the party; farewell to what few arcana checks were made

finally: a werewolf that has reached the moon! what shall he do oh he's dead huh

there's still plenty of time on the moon today for him to pick up a piece of predathos BEFORE the long rest. Does the responsibility to pass that along fall to the rest of the party? THERE'S a shenanigan to be sure?

Does he have a death letter. He better have a death letter. Everyone should have one (Molly is excused bc he is proudly barely literate bless his heart and also Taliesin's letter for Percy was good enough for two games). If he does it's gonna be LIT.

No really imagine you are Matt though and Chet just fucking dies on the moon. This is a complication for Matt but it is funny for me.

I think he should play as Yussa if this happens.

Hilarity complications:

Honestly they are roughly the same as last time but I did just remember Dorao too. Plot is stored in the Travis Character. I don't mind plotlines ending bc of this death but man that destroys any ongoing non-moon plotlines basically except whatever the fuck is going on with Delilah. You know how two of the three post-Campaign VM one-shots are specifically because Grog pulled a card from the Deck of Many Things? This would be like the opposite of that. Campaign ends ten episodes earlier than it would have because we don't have any of Chet's stuff.

What if he plays one of Ishto's party members who DID actually make it but got trapped on the moon. That's a weird dynamic.

The return to the war council becomes messier and messier...Bells Hells has: raised the alarm for basically every Reilora. Otohan is here. They have left SO many witnesses. And now they got a new guy.

Forecast: 1% chance of Chetney Death. A weird arcane lightning rod level of hilarity.

Bonus because this might get repetitive (fun fact, the wizard tracker? also launched just as shit got WICKED repetitive because every episode was like max 3 hours of real time. it is my gift, and my curse.) Things in this episode with slightly more personality than Otohan Thull:

The polymorphed possum

The nervous unnamed Vanguard member in the tent

The tent

The hypothetical concept of Tent Kite

[toxiclizardwrites]

WIP Wednesday

Here's a snippet from the second chapter of my Delgado x OC fanfic, Love and Rage. The rest will be posted soon, enjoy!

Warnings: 18+, drinking/alcohol, swearing, etc. no spicy stuff in this excerpt but there is in the final piece.

Tags: @bearlytolerant @lisa-and-shadow @atonalginger @avani-telvanni @aro-pancake @fangbangerghoul @eridanidreams I miss anyone? Let me know and I'll tag you next time!

-------------------

Chapter 2: Tension on The Key

Toxic headed through Reckoner’s core on the way to the Rook bunks, but she was stopped by Naeva. “Hey Rook, where are you headed?” 

“To go to sleep,” Toxic replied flatly. 

 “You look like shit. Something happen on Suvorov?”

“No. Nothing. Well, we found something about the Legacy but Del has the details.”

Naeva nodded, and pulled out a knife and started playfully flipping it around. She spun it in her fingers so the tip was pointed towards Toxic’s body. 

On edge and tired, Toxic instinctively jumped back. “Wow, a bit jumpy, are we?” Naeva teased. “Yeah a bit,” Toxic responded flatly, just wanting to get to bed. Naeva looked at Toxic thoughtfully, like she was trying to make a decision. “You know what? Fuck it. You need a drink. Follow me.” She said, and gave Toxic a hard shove in the direction of the Last Nova. But Toxic hesitated. “Naeva, I'm—”

“Nope, we’re going” she said before Toxic could finish. Sensing that she didn't have a choice in the matter, Toxic sighed heavily and followed Naeva’s steps to the bar on the other end of Reckoner’s core. 

Entering The Last Nova was like wandering into the arms of an ex that's bad for you, but in the best way. The smell of cigarettes and stale booze accented the old earth-style American diner decor. The place was especially packed tonight. Toxic and Naeva passed pirates that were arm wrestling, fighting, or grinding on each other on the dance floor. Toxic paid close attention to their faces, but nobody so much as glanced in their direction unless they were looking at Naeva. She didn't command the same level of respect as Delgado, but her presence also didn't go unnoticed. 

The pair made their way to the bar, where Bog nodded, his eyes moving from Naeva to Toxic thoughtfully. “What’ll it be, ladies,” he asked while wiping down the counter. Naeva ordered two pints of bog’s grog and pushed one towards Toxic, who was sitting with her head resting in her hand. 

“Drink up, Rook,” she said with a grin, and Toxic begrudgingly picked up the pint to take a swig. The alcohol was strong, and had an earthy taste mixed with paint thinner. Toxic’s face contorted a bit at the mix, even though she tried to suppress it. 

Naeva laughed. “Your first time having an adult drink, whittle baby?” She chided.

Toxic forced a smile. “It's kind of fucking gross, you have to admit”

“Oh, you're not wrong, Rook—”

Their banter was interrupted by a loud, very drunk voice. 

“Well, well well, what do we have here?” Mathis said with a slight slur in his voice. 

Toxic rubbed her hands over her face in protest of Mathis’ presence, not bothering to turn to face him. This is where it happens, she thought. This is where he tells everyone what happened on Suvorov. She expected it, of course, but not so soon. She wasn't mentally prepared. But then again, could she ever be? Her mind was racing, but she tried to act like she didn't care by burying her face into her pint. 

[historia-vitae-magistras]

The WW1 fic with India and Canada was one of my favorites! And in no are fics set in WW1 repetitive :( its a really interesting time period for the world and it makes a lot of sense to focus in on it

Here it is! Ancient fic, set in February of 1916. Aditya saved Matt's ass at the Second Battle of Ypres the previous April, and I think they have a good rapport. Please note this fic dates to early 2019 or earlier, and I might have missed some cultural points. It is mostly unedited but cross-posted to Ao3.

February 1916

"When did you learn Hindi?" Aditya asks in the morning during rotation. Matthew's soldiers are coming off the line, and the Indian divisions are moving in. It's the same routine as usual. Men slowly trickle out under the cover of darkness, and others creep in. Soldiers rouse each other with hands on shoulders and single fingers pressed to mouths. Quiet is key. There's no oil left in the lamps, and the braziers are banned here since the last dugout fire, and it is cold. Bitterly, bitterly cold. Matt squats across from Aditya in front of the tiny camp stove, shaded from the enemy by a windbreak of scrap iron and pours tea into mugs, handing one over when it looks an appropriate shade of brown. Aditya looks down at it apprehensively but doesn't turn his nose up at Matt's shit attempt. He even holds it close. Matt feels grubby next to him and doesn't know how Aditya keeps himself a fair sight cleaner than any Canadian, officer or otherwise, considering the weather. Even Matt's fingers are blue when he pulls back his gun mitts to hold the tea and breathe in the steam.

"I didn't," Matt shrugged. "Only know little pieces,"

"I saw you this morning." Aditya looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Bypassed the officers and went right to the sergeant. And the sergeant doesn't speak English,"

"So you saw me gesturing like a windmill then," Matt gave a snort.

"You've got enough to get the point across,"

"Barely. And they needed to know about the funk holes. Three collapsed on us in the last week. Killed a man in his sleep. Officers usually forget their men don't sleep in beds in the dugout."

Aditya hummed, satisfied with the answer and gave a smile. They're rare on the front, but more common on the first day of a rotation than the last.

"Tell me," Aditya passed the mug between his hands, as if he was debating taking a drink of not. Matt didn't blame him. The water had smelled brackish even before he'd added tea. "Was the first word you learned vegetable? Or was it curry?"

"Neither," Matt shrugs. "Sorry,"

"What for?" Aditya frowned. "You're young still. You haven't finished growing. We'll make a fluent speaker out of you yet."

"No," Matt rolled his shoulders, a little embarrassed and resisting the urge to duck a bit. "The first word I learned. It was 'sorry,'"

Aditya snorts in amusement. "Of course it was." He takes a sip and grimaces.

"I make godawful cup of tea, sorry,"

"That you do." Aditya set the cup back down on the stove. "Though the fault is not entirely yours. Army tea is... regrettable,"

"What about the fucking army isn't regrettable?" Matt snorted, dug around his coat for the flask of grog he'd saved from the dinner rations the night before. He offered it up like a toast, at a jaunty angle, shaking it a little. Aditya shook his head, shrugged and made a small "Mm, why not," sort of sound. He held out the cup and Matt gave each of them a glug or two.

Face twisted up in a grimace Aditya shakes his head. "That never gets better. How do you drink that ever day?"

"Only England's finest paint thinner for Arthur Kirkland's third favorite son," Matt said bitterly, knocking back half the mug in two gulps. He wished he still had some of the bourbon Alfred had sent in his last care package. Aditya's brow furrowed. Matt drank more to escape his gaze. Even as sharp and foul as army grog was, it sent ribbons of warmth across his body, gave him courage when he didn't have any left, steadied his nerves. They're sitting in peaceable silence now, just the whistle of the wind through the grates. No gunshots, no gurgling wounded, no screaming dead. In moments like that, Matt thinks he might make it his next birdsongs with his sanity intact. But not in silence. He's used to Jack filling up the quiet with movement, with his inane chattering to anyone and anything. He's loud, lively, distracting.

Aditya's company is quiet, dignified. He's the sort of man Matthew gets on best with. Calm, logical, patient. He's older than them all put together. Father and Papa and the elder Beilschmidt brother are ancient to Matt. But Aditya is ancient to even them. He wonder's vaguely, if there's anything under the sun that satisfies anymore when someone got that old. Much of his own father seems deadened by the centuries. But Father doesn't grimace at the taste of army rum and army tea.

"What do you drink?" Matt asks, thinking of the spiced tea he'd had behind the lines once when the Indian divisions had swapped camp with the French on his flank.

"Anything warm," Aditya laughs, sits back onto a pile of sand bags and lifts his cup. "Tin of piss or not. At least its warm,"

"I mean at home."

"There are as many kinds of tea as there are languages in my country," Aditya shrugged placidly. "I have loved every one,"

"You can't drink every single one every day thought!" Matt returned. Aditya was hard to read but Matt did his best, searching him for… something. "What do you actually like to drink?"

Aditya frowns at him and turns Matt's scan back on him. Old countries scanning for suspicious intent drag a sort of weight along with their observation, a heaviness of centuries. Matt doesn't hide anything on his face around Aditya. He has no reason too. And Aditya could probably read anything he did try to hide anyway. Aditya has always been a distant presence, but he had dragged Matt out of Ypres the year before and had never been unkind, before or since. Eventually, Aditya smiled, as if satisfied with what he had found on Matt's face.

"Palm wine," He finally says and his eyes are thousands of miles away, at home. "It's rather sweet but you take the sap from certain kinds of palm tree, and it ferments quickly. Sometimes within a couple of hours its enough. Or you can let it sit and it will get stronger and more sour, but it’s a delight!"

His voice sounded nostalgic, homesick. Matt pours them more tea, and shoves a few more pieces of coal on the anemic fire. Aditya shuffles closer.

"Sounds nice," Matt sighed, leaning into his hand. "We make maple wine. Its about the same process." He could see the maples, thin and scarlet and just out of reach. He can almost smell them, earthy and nutty on the breeze. The soil of the Canadian shield was dense, compacted by glaciers that even centuries melted Matt could feel in his veins. Mountains had once laced up and down, but eroded by the centuries. He could taste the zinc and the salt of his black soil.

"How old are you?" Aditya asked all of a sudden, startling him out of his own poisonous thoughts. Home was strength and sorrow and everything good in him but it was only weakness now. He was staring at Matt again and Matt compulsively dragged his collar up.

"Three hundred and seventeen," Matt said, sitting up straight.

"You're an infant," Aditya shook his head. "A babe in arms exposed to this."

"And I have near 200 years on Jack and Zee," Matt said. "It's not fair to them. They're too young for this."

"You're all far young for this!" Aditya shook his head. "I never thought I would see mankind progress to this level of savagery. But to drag children into it!" He made a disgusted noise that Matt associated with Arthur, but he couldn't say he disagreed.

"It's not fair on them," Matt said.

"Nor you," Aditya looked pensively into his mug. "Or I,"

Matt didn't know what to say to that. The man he'd once called Papa had been invaded. He might have found himself here, even if Dad hadn't taken up the cause and dragged the empire with him. But Aditya? He was from what Matt dimly knew as a place thousands of miles away. He'd spent half of the crown's tours of India too feverish to roll over, much less take in the sights with any coherence.

"It doesn't get easier then?" He asked very gently because he might not know the depth of Aditya's sorrow, but he knew its breadth. Every square mile of his country and the lack of it beneath his feet ached like an old scar in his chest. "Missing home as you get older?"

"A little," Aditya said. "Human pains are so very intense when we're young. But you will never outgrow it. No matter how old we are, home is home. The lack of it will always ache." He looked devastatingly sad for a moment, a centuries long grief older than Matt and maybe even Arthur had been alive. "But it is cruel, to tear you from home when you've hardly planted your roots. It is much harder to kill a plant with deep roots."

"Its not the longest I've been away," Matt said. He thought of the years he'd spent in Australia after he had indulged the screaming need for just an inkling of control in his life. He thought of the prison ship and the burning sun on his neck, unnatural and agonising on his back. But he'd had Jack, who in his way, was a sort of home too. He swallowed down something painful born of love. "I'll survive. But it never goes away? The pain?"

"Never," Aditya said. "I think your father has numbed himself to the reality of our existence. Thinks that centuries have to make one cruel or they have not been long enough. But we never lose it. Every day people are born and people die, every year we reap and we plant. We build and tear down. There is always something new as the old fades. It brings life and feeling with it. After a few centuries it… stabalises. I think. Like adulthood in a way I think. The fits of passion that come with youth settle a bit. But you won't go numb, if that's what you fear."

Matt dipped his head, nodding and hiding. Endless misery then. Endless pain in his lungs, endless wars to be dragged into. The wind seemed to blow colder then, as if to remind Matt that home or abroad, his fate still rested under the north wind to be scoured with ice as it willed. He shivered.

"You didn't fear it at all!" Aditya looked startled. "You hoped for it!" He phrased it like a question but it wasn't one. He set his mug aside and looked very intense.

"Your humanity, our ties to humanity? It's what will keep you sane when you have nothing else. Every heart that beats in your chest is a chance to do better. To be better. Wish for anything but that fading, do you understand me?" He leaned forward, hands clenching between his legs.

Matt was silent, ashamed of himself for some reason. He felt like a coward. Next to Jack, next to Zee, even next to Alfred, he was quiet and steady and mature. But under Aditya's gaze in that moment, he had never felt more like a child. Aditya looked a bit kinder when Matt got up the courage to make eye contact again.

"They," He nodded off in the direction where Matt's soldiers were packing up their kits in their preparations to march behind the lines. "Are why we're here. And they cannot numb your agony. But they can be your joy. Don't align yourself with kings and politicians. It’s the ordinary people that will keep you. Live the cycles of years with them. Celebrate spring, peace and the festivals, mourn winter and war. It's how we stay sane."

"That's why Father--"

"Has been half mad for centuries?" Aditya laughed. "Yes. I believe it is. He likes to think himself rather posh, above it all. But he isn't. None of us are. And stay that way, Matthew. Don't make yourself an exception."

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina season 2 episode 11: Belly of the Beast OR I said what what

"you came up here to sleep with your daughter" "I feel like I wouldn't have let it get that far??" you didn't know shit, scanlan, you 100% would have

not the flogger having an actual emotional significance

HOLD UP. WAIT. ZOOM AND ENHANCE.

kaylie: >:|

"burt?!"

you've heard of immovable rod get ready for immovable sword

of course scanlan knows how to slip ropes like that

MA'AM

leave him ALONE

"why does your keg say 'for animal consumption only'?" grog's drinking ivermectin

I do like the gold-amber-red gradient on the little fate thread

YOU'D BEST START BELIEVING IN GHOST STORIES

not the campaign 1 death roll

me @ the raven queen:

scanlan looking all despondent :(

like it's an amazing pose/expression, just. :(

the fact that vax really does see scanlan as like a big brother advice-giving type (which is maybe a little bit of liam and sam bleeding through but hey)

thordak: BITCH BETTER HAVE MY MONEY

flashback to mica talking about thordak as a shitty dad

so that's cabal's ruin she's wearing, right? or is she gonna pick that up between now and glintshore

background goliath: "this better be good or I'm killin' something" also me whenever I have to have a conversation first thing in the morning

"please god tell me this is a metaphor"

"we need a good plan" "so…do you have one?" "have one what"

big "it's time for plan b" "do we have a plan b?" "no but it's time for one" energy

keyleth failing six stealth checks in a row

"I put you in this place" technically that was percy

"do not go far from me" HEY. NO. SHUT UP.

this whole thing originally took place post-thordak, after the timeskip when percy had a temple to the raven queen built in whitestone

"this isn't something we have to talk about now. or ever, honestly." mood

"it always matters"

"don't let him get away" I regret to inform you that that is in fact the one thing he will actually do

roommate: is that blood? me: yyyyup roommate, with feeling: gross

"take the plunge" I feel like he maybe wasn't being quite this literal, vax

the coffin pose was not necessary, you dramatic ass

I had to look this up, this is Courtenay Taylor as the Raven Queen, which knocked me 100% for a loop

like. jack masseffect? female soul survivor? in my critical role??

there are six fate threads connected to vax, one for each of the other party members

lays in the floor about it

ngl I did have An Emotion about "all the living share one experience"

I also like the idea that RQ has been scouting vax this whole time, even before the temple

also one of those priestesses was liev'tel and I will not be convinced otherwise

"whose blood is that?!"

and now vax is a born-again

"you…dig…there"

the little "dig" gesture

"he's not very smart, is he?"

interrogating the axe

scanlan really is tryingggggg

it's so hard watching this and knowing where scanlan's character arc ends up and just wanting him to be there Now

(someone on the tag made the point that stream!scanlan played everything as a joke until suddenly demanding to be taken seriously, which was a big cause of everyone's confusion and upset in ep. 85, because he really hadn't earned that kind of pathos. this arc is much more satisfying to watch bc we can see those pieces falling into place in real time, instead of having future events informing them in hindsight.)

they can feel the heat from that fire in the next city

petition for that specific pitch to be removed from everyone's sound libraries forever

passive perception too strong pls nerf

quick someone cast fairy fire

this is going to be an extremely weird sentence but I enjoy what they've done with environmental blood splatter this season

vorugal's ice blasts, umbrasyl's invisible stomps, they're just good

"I found out I'm the champion of the Matron of Ravens" "I found out I'm a father" "…you win"

the little look down at "the other way"

plus vax's face after

DRAGON HADOUKEN

the pupil dilation

"I didn't actually think this would work!" "it really shouldn't have"

"you leave when Scanlan Shorthalt TELLS you to leave"

love that the broom drop fastball special is just their signiature move now

(are there people having the same reaction to finding out Grog and Vex are married that I did to finding out Roy Mustang and Lust are married)