#keyleth fic

[velvette-creations]

Hold onto Me

The Legend of Vox Machina: Keyleth x fem!reader

Rating: Mature (Minors DNI)

WC: 1.4k 

Prompt: “If love is the answer, you’re home” -Touch by Daft Punk for @sweetspicybingo (Lyrical Bingo Collection)

Warnings: oral and fingering

Summary: You and Keyleth enjoy a private at Château Shorthalt (a little smut and a whole lotta fluff)

Keyleth’s eyes sparkled, shimmering emeralds that could light up the whole world; you were sure of that. You loved getting lost in them, in the green depths that knew no bounds. You often pondered if that was your favorite feature of hers, but truth be told, you didn’t think you could pick just one. You loved everything about her. That enthralling love swirled around your head as you gazed down at her naked body.

A faded scarlet blush caressed her naked, pale skin—an alluring warmth gripping her flesh. Your fingers skimmed down her sides before grabbing her hips. She squirmed in your grasp, her mouth slightly agape and those lovely emerald eyes blown wide. Whisps of red hair clung to her clammy skin. You were grateful for the respite and privacy, having the privilege of her all for yourself. You lowered your mouth to her belly, placing a warm kiss against her heated flesh.

“Please,” she whispered, squirming from your touch.

“Use your words, Kiki,” you encouraged. Hold onto me, I’m right here with you.

Her cheeks flushed redder, so you lifted your head, crawling up her body to cup her face gently. “It’s just you and me, my love. Everything is just between us,” you reminded her. Scanlon may scream and sing his conquests to any who would listen, as was his right, but you would never share these details with the company. Though you were certain, they had put two and two together by now. For the moment, you were thankful for Keyleth’s warm body against yours and the soft silk sheets courtesy of Château Shorthalt. You made a mental note to thank Scanlon later.

“I want to feel your mouth,” she purred, the vibrations tingling down your spine.

You pressed your mouth against her lips, drawing her into a sensual kiss before moving down her neck, her collarbone, and the swells of her breasts. You circled each nipple, feeling them harden beneath your tongue as your hand dipped between her splayed thighs, stroking her silken folds. Keyleth let out the most delicious sound – a beautiful, half-forgotten song. You mouthed her taut stomach, skimming the fingertips of your other hand down her curved hip before you found the spot you wanted.

“Please,” she whimpered, her fingers slipping into your ear.

“All in good time, my love,” you murmured before swiping your tongue against her. A sharp, tangy taste danced against your tastebuds, and you hungered for more. A low growl rolled through you as your mouth sealed around her.

Your tongue plunged deep inside, and Keyleth rocked against your mouth. Truth be told, you could spend an eternity between her thighs, bringing her pleasure until she couldn’t take it any longer. Vax was a fool for letting her slip between his fingers, but his loss was your gain. Her wetness coated your mouth and nose, serving only to spur you on. You sought her clit as two of your slipped inside her.

You crooked your fingers, hitting a soft spongy center before you thrust them gently as your lips suckled her clit. You could smell the sweat prickling over her bare skin. She writhed on the bed, arching her back as you pleasured her. It didn’t take long to get her to spill into an intense orgasm. You removed your fingers before gently lapping her clean with your tongue, savoring every drop. Keyleth seemed speechless, simply stroking your hair as you rested your head on her belly.

“That was amazing,” she whispered, a smile curving over her lips.

“Mmm, I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kiki,” you grinned.

“How about a bath?”

“A bath sounds amazing,” you sighed, enamored by the idea of soaking in hot water and scrubbing your skin clean from the grime of the Hells of Despath clinging to you.

You had to hand it to Scalan; he ensured every inch of this place was luxurious. You were excited to see a clawed bathtub, perfect for soaking and large enough for two people. You turned on the tap, running your fingers under the water to judge the temperature while Keyleth fiddled with the bottles on the marbled sink. She selected a few, dribbling them into the water filling the tub, and soon, a pleasant scent filled the air—the sharp scent of lemon followed by powdery violet and roses in bloom. Keyleth climbed into the tub first, then helped you in, letting you settle against her chest as her chin rested on your shoulder.

“This is heavenly,” she sighed happily.

“Truly,” you agreed, relaxing in her arms and balmy water, watching the steam rise around you.

A pleasant silence filled the room, the hot water soothing your aches and pains, and you were half asleep, but the pleasant feeling of Keyleth massaging your breasts roused you.

“Kiki,” you moaned.

“Shhh,” she cooed, kissing your shoulder as one hand slipped down your belly. “Just relax. Let me tend to you.”

You did as she instructed, letting your head falling back against her chest as her hand found its way between your legs. She teased you, making your nerves stand on edge before her fingers finally slipped inside. It was soothing, slow, and pleasant, taking her time to bring you to orgasm. Your muscles fluttered around her slender feelings, enjoying the slow burn and the time she took. You could feel the love she held for you in every gentle thrust of her fingers.

“I…gonna…” you whined, unable to get the words out as you clenched tightly around her fingers before giving your body over to the sweet release.

“There we go, sweet girl,” Keyleth hummed, kissing your temple as she continued to work you through the orgasm.

You felt floaty like you could melt right into the water and let the steam carry you away. Keyleth’s embrace tightened around you to help keep you grounded. The two of you stayed in the bath until the water turned ice cold before slipping under the warm sheets, curling around each other before succumbing to sleep. Your arms remained circled around her waist the entire night.

~~

You woke to the smell of chicken and waffles wafting under your nose, making your stomach lurch with hunger. Though you knew Keyleth wouldn’t be too fond of the chicken, so you slipped out of bed, tugged on your clothes, and went to find the garden Scanlon had sung about earlier that night. You were delighted to find a bush bursting with ripe raspberries and gathered up a bunch, tossing them into a wooden basket that rested by a tree. You made your way to the kitchen, winking spectral servants ushering heaps of chicken and waffles from the kitchen before you made a raspberry tart for Keyleth to enjoy for breakfast. It had been one of your favorite treats as a child, and you wanted to share that small part of your past with her.

It came out perfect, with a crispy crust and raspberries glistening with sugar and honey on top of the mouthwatering custard. The servants were a big help in following your requests, and you wondered if they enjoyed making something other than chicken. You scooped up the plate and made your way into the dining room.

“I was wondering where you were; you left me alone,” Keyleth pouted.

“Apologies, I was making you breakfast, my lady,” you grinned, placing the plate in front of her before bending to kiss her.

“You’re forgiven. It smells delicious,” she beamed, lifting her fork before digging into the tart.

You picked up a piece of perfectly fried chicken, sinking your teeth into the crunchy skin as the meat melted off the bone and against your tongue.

“Oh, I could kiss you right now, Scanlon,” you groaned happily, indulging in more chicken.

“Pretty sure Keyleth might transform into a tiger and eat me,” he laughed.

“Ahh, Minxie,” Grog grinned, munching on fistfuls of chicken as Scanlon made kissy faces in your direction.

Keyleth reached for your hand under the table, running her thumb against your hand. Her smile was dazzling, a little bit of custard clinging to the corners of her mouth. Your tongue tingled as you longed to lick it away. You would follow this woman to the ends of the world, right into the screaming depths of Hell. Love; it made you do crazy things.

Many questions swirled through your mind as you held onto Keyleth’s hand. The Chroma Conclave proved to be dangerous foes. You had no idea what the future might hold and where any of you might end up, but at least you would be by Keyleth’s side. Your stomach felt sick at the unknown until you gazed into Keyleth’s kind eyes, and a realization dawned on you. If love is the answer, you’re home. The one sure thing you could cling to was that your home would be wherever Keyleth was.

[criticalbeauregard]

vexleth sketch (click for better quality)

it's "i have passed through fire" keyleth not "i have passed through bees"

inspo: @elliesgaymachete for the idea :)

[sunstone-smiles]

The Legendary Vox Machina Tickle Fight

Original request (from 🦋 Anon): "LE GASP!!!! UR A FAN OF VOX MACHINA TOO 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 Omggggg can you PLEEEEEASE do day 18 tickle fight with the Vox Machina group? They're all so cute together and I'd love to see that!"

Author’s note: Omg, this turned into a huge fic, but I have no regrets, Lol. Here’s Day 18 of Tickletober: “Tickle fight” from August’s Prompt List! I hope you enjoy!

Series: The Legend of Vox Machina

Characters: Pike, Grog, Scanlan, Keyleth, Vex, Vax, Percy, and Trinket

Word count: 4,585

Summary: The Vox Machina crew is having a boring day, so Scanlan attempts to lighten the mood, but Grog’s misunderstanding of one of Scanlan’s words soon turns into a playful fight between the party.  Enjoy!

---

It’s just that kind of day, where the Vox Machina crew gets to relax with one another, but they’re teetering on the edge of drab boredom. They don’t want to go out. Too much effort. So whatever is available in their current cozy sitting room is what keeps them occupied.

Pike, standing on a chair so she can see better over a wooden table, cups a pair of dice in her hands; the sound of the dice clicking can be heard as she shakes them. Grog sits across from her with the table height at his stomach due to his large size. The muffled collision of dice can be heard in his hands as well.

“Ready, Grog?” Pike asks her friend.

“Ready!”

At the same time, they throw their dice onto the table. Pike counts the two numbers on her dice quickly. “I got a six!”

“A three! I win!” Grog celebrates.

“I hate to break it to you, buddy, but six is higher than three,” Pike says sweetly, understanding that her friend has difficulty with numbers.

“Aww…” Grog deflates a little. 

“It’s okay, buddy! We can try a different game.”

Grog leans back in his chair like all the muscles in his body have gone limp. “But we’ve already tried so many. I’m bored.” 

“Heh,” Pike leans her elbow on the table, “Can’t blame you there, buddy.”

“Don’t worry, everyone! Your savior is here!” Scanlan walks into the room, making a performance out of his entrance. He runs up to the same wooden table Pike and Grog are at, hops up onto a chair and onto the table like it was a stage and he was a vendor. “I saw that it was a little dreary in here today, so I know just how to lighten the mood,” Scanlan moves his eyebrows up and down when he says “mood.”

“Oh goody, more mind numbing dirty jokes,” Vex says from her seat across the room. Trinket’s head is in her lap as she passes the time by brushing his fur. Vax sits in a separate chair next to her, polishing his daggers. Meanwhile, Percy draws in his sketchbook as he sits in a chair up against the front wall near the doorframe, while Keyleth sits next to him in another chair and touches up the leaves of a potted plant.

“No no, nothing dirty,” Scanlan replies. “I have tailored this joke to be pristine and appropriate. Ahem!” Scanlan clears his throat loudly. 

“What do you call a cow that’s good at playing an instrument?” Scanlan asks his crowd of friends. He waits and looks around at each of them to keep them in suspense. Then, he answers. “A Moo-sician! Eh? Eh?” he winks and elbows the air.

All of his friends slowly look at each other before looking back up at Scanlan, unamused and in total silence. If crickets were in the room, they would be chirping.

Scanlan puts his hands on his hips. “What? Nothing? Tough crowd.”

“It sounds like you need to get better material, my friend,” Vax shows a brief smile.

“Yes, I would think you of all people would come up with better material than simple puns, Scanlan,” Percy teases.

“I don’t know. I thought it was a little funny,” Keyleth admits.

Scanlan gestures an appreciative hand to the Ashari. “Thank you, Keyleth! But as for the rest of you! How did you not find it funny?! That was one of my best rib-ticklers!”

Grog places a finger to his chin. “Oooh, wait! No wonder no one laughed, Scanlan!” Grog exclaims. The goliath stands from his seat and walks around the table to be behind Scanlan. “That wasn’t a rib-tickler! You got to use your hands. Like this!” Grog finishes his sentence by swiftly moving his hands under Scanlan’s arms and tickling his ribs. The smaller man jumps with a yelp in surprise and throws his elbows down to his sides. 

“Grohohohog!” Scanlan already begins giggling, “I didn’t mehehehean it literally-hehehe! It’s a figure ohohohof speech!”

Grog tilts his head, genuinely confused, “You’ve lost me.”

Pike perks up, a grin brightening her features like the glow of her divine magic. “Oh, yeah! Now this is something exciting!” She stands up straight like she was preparing to charge into a battle. 

“Tickle fight!!!” Pike calls out with the same ecstatic tone as if she was announcing a tavern brawl for everyone to see. She leaps onto the table and rushes over to Scanlan. 

“Grog, hold him for me!” she exclaims.

“You’ve got it, buddy!” Grog keeps his hands under Scanlan’s arms, easily holding the bard in place as his fingers wiggle against his ribs.

“Nohoho, no, no! Pihihihikehehehe!” Scanlan’s laughter increases when Pike joins in and scribbles at his sides. Scanlan curls himself to the side and tucks his face in his shoulder as Pike and Grog successfully team attack him. Scanlan’s joke may have not lightened the dull mood of the room, but his own laughter certainly does.

“Heh,” Vax chuckles as he watches from the sidelines. “Too bad for you, Scanlan. Looks like you’ve waged a war with Pike and Grog.”

“Remember our scuffles that usually turned into tickle fights?” Vex smiles at her brother.

“Ah, yes. You mean the ones I always won?” Vax returns a smug grin.

“Excuse me?” Vex says, playfully offended. “If I recall, you are more ticklish than I. I’d have you begging for mercy in seconds.” Vex places Trinket’s brush on her seat, keeping her eyes trained on Vax.

Vax places his dagger on the table and leans forward, keeping his grin and his eyes on Vex. “I beg to differ, Stubby.”

“Well, I’ll show you, Scrawny!” Vex exclaims and lunges her hands at Vax, immediately getting a solid scribble to his ribs. Vax yelps as the pulse of ticklishness hits his form, momentarily paralyzing him before he clamps his arms down to his sides, then shifts tactics to try and shove his sister away.

“Vehehehehex!” the male twin leans himself off his chair, then crashes to the floor. Vex pounces down after him and tickles his ribs from behind, causing Vax to release a secondary burst of giggles before he curls up and rolls onto his back to attempt to grapple his sister’s wrists. He leans his head back and kicks his legs behind her.

“See, now what did I tell you, dear brother? You’re still the more ticklish one,” Vex teases and easily slips her hands from Vax’s grasp to continue tickling him. There’s no follow up response from Vax except a continuous stream of giggles and a loud snort. Knowing the sound he just made, he curls himself onto his side and tries to hide his face in his arm.

“Aww, and you still snort too. How adorable,” Vex lays the teases on thick.

“Shuhuhuhut up!” Vax finally responds.

“Hey, that’s not very nice. It seems I just have to tickle you more to change your attitude,” Vex smiles and scribbles a hand towards her brother’s belly, causing him to curl himself up tighter. As the twins scuffle, Trinket happily growls at them before trotting off towards the doorway to lie down.

“Hehe, looks like the twins have already roped themselves into the fight,” Keyleth chuckles from her seat.

“It’s inevitable that siblings will get themselves into little squabbles from time to time,” Percy says beside her, not even taking his eyes off his sketchbook.

Keyleth turns to him with a smile. “Did you usually get into tickle fights with your siblings, Percy?”

He glances up at her. “Me? Oh no, no. I don’t do tickle fights.” He returns to sketching.

Keyleth tilts her head. “Huh? But, it definitely sounded like you were speaking from experience…”

Before Keyleth can ask another question, there’s a Scanlan sized giggly scream from the other side of the room. Grog has grabbed Scanlan’s arms and pulled them to the side to allow Pike to scribble into his underarms.

“A lihihihittle hehehehelp here wohohohould be–hehehe nice!” Scanlan shouts out to whichever one of his party members is willing to listen.

“Hold on, Scanlan! I’m coming!” Keyleth answers the call. She places the plant on her chair, then runs over in the direction of Pike. The Ashari makes it to the edge of the table and tries to swipe at Pike, like she was attempting to catch a rabbit, but Pike jumps back.

“Whoa!” Pike says. “Oh no, Keyleth!” Pike already giggles as she turns to run. She hops off the table and Keyleth chases behind her.

“Oh no you don’t, Keyleth!” Grog immediately puts Scanlan down and rushes to Pike's aid. Before the chase has even begun, Grog snatches Keyleth off the ground in a hug as she passes by the corner of the table. He places Keyleth’s feet back to the floor and scribbles into her sides, earling a squeak from the Ashari.

“Eehehehek! Grohohohog!” Keyleth giggles and squeezes her arms down. “Thihihihis height difference mahahahakes it sohohoho unfair!” she says as she realizes the ticklish predicament Scanlan must have been in.

“Sorry, Keyleth! But if you mess with my best buddy, you mess with me!” Grog grins as he carefully wiggles his fingers to Keyleth’s ribs, keeping her in place as she sways like a leaf in the breeze.

Pike twists on her heels once she hears Keyleth’s laughter. She smiles at her buddy Grog as a thank you. Past Grog’s form, however, Pike sees the wooden table they were just at. The once giggling form of Scanlan is now missing. 

“Huh?” Pike wonders. “Where did he–”

“Sneak attack!” Scanlan loudly announces his presence behind her as he digs his fingers into Pike’s sides.

“AHA!” Pike yelps from being taken off guard. “Hahaha! Scanlahahahan!” Pike darts her hands down in an attempt to pry the bard’s hands latched onto her sides.

“You thought you could just tickle me and get away with it? Oh no, no, no, Pike. You see, now it’s my turn to even the playing field,” Scanlan grins. “Who would have guessed that under all that armor that the mighty Pike is so ticklish?”

“Ohoho, yohohohou’re going to rehehehegret saying thahahahat!” Pike giggles.

“I regret saying a lot of things, but this is not one of them,” Scanlan replies.

Seeing six out of the seven party members get thrown into a tickle fight, Percy places his sketchbook on the side table next to his chair, then stands. “Well, if you all are going to continue fooling around with each other, then I think I should take my leave.”

Percy turns towards the doorway to exit. However, as the big brown bear sees Percy walking in that direction, Trinket trots in front of the doorway and blocks the exit. The bear growls at the white-haired man.

Percy takes a step back. “Wha– Trinket?”

“Good thinking, Trinket!” Vex says, seeing the exchange between her bear and the noble occur. “You’re not going anywhere without first joining the fight, Percy.” Vex glances to her bear, “Trinket, be a dear and get Percy, will you?”

Trinket happily growls at Percy. The noble takes another step back.

“Wait, Trinket!” Percy puts his hands up.

The bear growls again and charges at Percival. Trinket headbutts Percy square in the stomach, with enough force to push him, but not to hurt him. Percy hits the back wall as Trinket charges at him and, being the large bear that he is, Trinket easily traps Percy to the wall by having his head right up against his stomach. With another happy huff from the bear, Trinket begins nuzzling his snout into Percy’s stomach, finding a way under his dress shirt and vest for his snout to be most effective.

Percy flinches and his mouth twitches upwards; he tries to restrain his snickers while he attempts to shove Trinket’s big, playful head out of his shirt. “Trinket! Stand down, boy! I am not a toy for you to cuddle!”

“Good boy, Trinket!” Vex exclaims. She leaves her brother in a crumpled pile of giggles and runs over to help her bear. 

“Let me lend you a hand, Trinket,” she says, now standing beside her furry companion. “Or perhaps, two hands?” she wiggles all of her fingers at Percy.

“V-Vex! Don’t you da–AHare!” Percy closes his mouth shut once Vex lunges her hands at his ribs. A few restrained snickers start to trickle from the man as he turns his face away into his shoulder.

“Percival, you’re holding out on me,” Vex teases. “You do know that it’s a tickle fight, right? So, laugh a little,” she moves her hands up his ribs and into his underarms. Rather quickly, his snickers sputter and turn into full blown giggles.

“Vehehehex!” Percy completely breaks into an outpouring of bubby joy. He bends his arms down for protection, but that doesn’t stop the loveable bear from nuzzling into his belly. He tries to wiggle his way out of his predicament.

“There we go! We got him, Trinket!” Vex glances at the bear before looking back at Percy. “See, Percy? You would have missed out on all this fun had you walked out.”

“I will nohohohot be subjugated to-hohoho thihihihis childish gahahame!” He wiggles to the side and successfully dislodges himself from Trinket and the wall, then wastes no time in sprinting across the room.

“This isn’t over yet, Percy!” Vex exclaims. Right before she takes off for the chase, a woosh of black cloth passes by her.

“I’ll deal with you later!” Vax glances over his shoulder to his sister as he runs by.

“Yeah, right. We’ll see about that,” Vex smiles before following suit and running back into the frey.

Percy, knowing he’s a target, skids behind Grog and Keyleth and takes cover.

“Grog! Let me use your body as a shield!” Percy peeks out from the side of the goliath.

Grog’s view turns towards Percy. “Uh, okay.”

“I’ve gotcha, Keyleth!” Vax says from Grog’s other side and leaps onto the table, then he jumps off towards Grog. He lands on Grog and wraps his arms around the goliath’s neck, piggy-back style.

“Hey!” Grog tries to snatch Vax from over his back, releasing Keyleth from his hold. “Get over here, pipsqueak!” Grog spins from side to side to toss Vax off of him, but Vax keeps his grip. Grog sidesteps one way and nearly crashes into Percy, sending the noble stumbling backwards and onto the floor; when Grog sidesteps to his other side, Vex also stumbles backwards and onto the floor when she tries to dodge.  

Grog halts his movement to try and get a better grip on Vax, but the dagger wielder shows him a smirk and uses one hand to scribble at the goliath’s ribs while Vax’s other arm holds himself up by staying wrapped around Grog’s neck.

Grog jolts and a bigger smile grows on his already large features. “Hehehey! Vahahahax!” he tries to reach up at the half-elf again. “Nohoho fair!”

“No fair? We’re playing a tickle fight with a guy twice our size. Creative strategies have to be used, my friend,” Vax smiles at him. 

“And don’t forget about a little bit of magic!” Keyleth recovers and faces her palm towards Grog. Her hand glows and vines sprout from the floor, wrapping themselves loosely around Grog and brushing up against the rest of his torso.

Grog stops going for Vax and pulls his arm down as deep laughter booms from his chest. “Ohohohokay! Mahahahaybe I earned thihihihis!” Grog says through his giggles.

Vex stands up and leans an arm on Trinket. She sees Percy still on the floor, but she’s quite amused with the sight of their tallest ally being overpowered by tickling. She’ll call off her chase, for now.

“Ohohoho no! Grohohog!” Pike says through her own laughter as she hears Grog being felled by giggles from across from her.

“Oooh. What a shame,” Scanlan says over Pike’s shoulder. “It seems like you and Grog have fallen to the same tragic fate of revenge—WHOA!”

Pike uses a burst of strength to yank one of Scanlan’s arms and fling him to the floor in front of them onto his back. As he lifts his head up to regain his bearings, Pike pounces at him like a wolf and knocks him back to the floor. She dives her hands towards his sides, earning a shriek of laughter from Scanlan.

“Pihihihihike! Yohohou already had yohohour turn tickling mehehehe! Hahahave mercy!”

“I’ll consider it, if you help me help Grog,” Pike negotiates with a smile.

“Nohoho way! Hehehe started it!”

Pike shrugs, “Suit yourself then.” She crawls her fingers back up to his underarms, causing Scanlan to kick his legs out behind her and his giggles to increase.

Pike glances beside her to Percy, who’s still leaning back on the floor as he watches Grog’s current fate. “Percy! Come help me with Scanlan!” she says to him.

The noble shakes his head. “No, thank you. I’ve had my fair share of this fight for one day.”

“Come on, Percy. You’re got to have some fun once in a while.” She puts on a smirk. “Or are you too much of a stick-in-the-mud noble to do so?”

Percy’s stunned. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Pike’s tone is one that’s begging to be challenged. Percy narrows her eyes at her, but Pike has already turned her attention back to the giggling bard.

“Now Scanlan, are you willing to help me assist Grog?”

“Yehehes! Yes!” Scanlan raises one arm above his head and purple magic begins to swirl around his hand. Pike pulls her hands away from him, allowing Scanlan—breathless and full of residual giggles—to summon his magical purple hand and glide it towards Grog. Scanlan rolls onto his stomach to see the world upright and controls the magic of “Scanlan’s hand” to tap Keyleth on the shoulder.

Falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book, Keyleth turns to look at the hand. “Huh? Hey!” She exclaims when the hand drifts down to tickle her side. When she twists to avoid it, the hand follows her and tickles the rest of her torso. Scanlan and Pike snicker from the sidelines.

As Keyleth giggles, her concentration on the magic vines falter and the vines retract back into the floor.

Now free, Grog swings his hand behind his back and grabs a hold of Vax’s ankle. He yanks the half-elf from his back and holds him upside down in front of him. A mischievous grin across the goliath’s features is what Vax is met with as he dangles from the ankle. 

Vax releases a nervous chuckle. “Any chance that you’ll put me down, big guy?”

Grog shakes his head like a child who’s gotten their way. “Nope. None,” Grog says and plunges a hand into Vax’s belly. The half-elf barks out a surprised laugh and clasps both of his hands to Grog’s singular large one in any attempt to pry it from his giggling belly.

“Well it wahahas wohohorth a shohohohot!” Vax says.

“All right, Grog!” Pike cheers. Scanlan dissipates his magic hand, releasing Keyleth, then plops onto the floor to take a well deserved break. 

“I’m coming to help!” Pike gets up to dash over to Grog.

“Hold on a minute, Pike!” Percy swoops in behind her and scoops her up into his arms, causing Pike to shriek as he lifts her in a hug off her feet. He has his arms wrapped under hers like he was holding a cat.

“Allow me to show you that a noble can indeed have fun,” Percy smirks. He tightens one arm around her while his other hand starts to scribble into her side. Pike jolts with another burst of giggles and attempts pushing on Percy’s arm to squeeze herself free.

“Pehehehercy, wahahait! I was just kihihihidding!” she kicks her feet in the air.

“Of course. I know that, Pike. But I have to protect the reputation of my good name. You understand,” he smiles. Pike’s squirming becomes strong enough to where Percy nearly drops her, but he catches himself and places Pike safely to the ground, though still with one arm wrapped around her and one tickling her to keep her in place. Percy chuckles as he kneels down, takes a seat on the floor, then pulls Pike into his lap to now have the ability to tickle her with both of his hands, sending her giggles even louder. 

Keyleth eventually recovers, arms still wrapped around herself. She processes her surroundings, noticing Vax’s situation.

“Oh no, Vax. Not again,” Keyleth straightens herself out and prepares her hand to summon more vines.

“I’m going to stop you right there, Keyleth!” Vex rams into the Ashari with a giant hug.

“W-What?! Vex, what are you–dohohohoing?!” Keyleth squeaks at the end of her sentence when Vex takes her turn at tickling the Ashari. 

“Well, you were about to help my brother out of his predicament, and I’m quite entertained by his situation. You wouldn’t want to cut that entertainment short, now would you?”

“Buhuhuhut Vax is in trohohohouble!” she giggles in response.

“Nooo, he’s fine. Look at him. He’s smiling, laughing. He doesn’t need our help,” Vex grins. Trinket happily huffs to himself. Seeing that his allies are enjoying themselves, Trinket trots away over to a spot behind a still resting Scanlan to lie down and watch the rest unfold, until his assistance is requested again.

Just then, a giggly scream from Pike catches Grog’s ears. The goliath turns his head to see that Percy is scribbling a hand at Pike’s belly while the gnome kicks and curls her arms around herself.

“Pike! Buddy!” Grog shouts. He drops Vax to the floor like a bag of gold and dashes over to Pike. Percy looks up just in time to see the massive goliath barreling towards him. His eyes go wide and immediately lets go of Pike. He crawls backwards on his arms and lifts himself to his feet as Grog approaches.

“Grog, wait! We can talk about this!” Percy turns to run, but Grog instantly snatches him off the floor and into his arms, holding him very similarly as Percy did to Pike. Grog spins to face his buddy, then wastes no time in digging a set of his fingers into Percy’s side. Percy lets out a startled chortle before his giggles find their way out again. 

“Pick on someone, your own size!” Grog grins behind him.

“Thahahat’s rich cohohoming from yohohohou!” Percy responds. He wiggles and slips his nimble self from Grog’s arms, ducking under them before running. 

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” Grog says before he and Pike take off after him.

Vex witnesses Percy is involved in another chase. She chuckles. “See, Percy! Told you it wasn’t over!”

As she finishes her sentence, Vax suddenly lunges at her and tackles her to the floor. 

“And I told you that I would come back for you later,” Vax smirks above her as he darts his hands towards his sister’s sides. A minor shriek releases from Vex before she slaps a hand to cover her mouth, though Vax can see her smile twitching from under her fingers. Her other hand attempts to shove at Vax while the heels of her boots dig at the floor.

“Ah, ah, ah, sister. We will be having none of that. You saw me giggling my head off, it’s only fair that I see yours,” Vax crawls a hand up to her underarm connected to the hand blocking her smile. Vex yanks her hand down with a shriek that results in the joyful sound of laughter.

“Vahahahahax you a–ahahahaha!” The rest of Vex’s sentence is erased by her giggles. 

“Language, sister,” he playfully scolds her, knowing exactly what she was about to say. He turns to the Ashari. “Keyleth, want to provide some assistance?”

Keyleth nods with a smile, “Okay!” The Ashari makes her way over. She sits on her knees on the floor next to Vex’s other side and joins in, scribbling at Vex’s stomach. The giggles of the female twin grow higher in pitch as she attempts to protect and slap away the two pairs of hands scribbling across her torso.

“Twohoho against ohohone? Well I cahahahan play thahahat gahahame too!” Vex exclaims. “Trinket! Hehehelp me!” she shouts across the room.

The bear growls and lifts himself to his feet. Trinket begins charging forward. Scanlan hears the loud pounding of paws behind him and turns his head to see Trinket running in his direction. Scanlan leaps to his feet and runs straight, keeping his eyes on the bear. Meanwhile, Percy turns the corner on the other side of the room and runs right towards Vex, Vax, and Keyleth, though his eyes are also on his pursuers.

Almost at the same time, Scanlan and Percy look forward, seeing not only are they going to crash into each other, but into Vex, Vax, and Keyleth as well. They try to slow their movement, but Pike and Grog crash into Percy, while Trinket crashes into Scanlan, sending everyone crashing into the twins and Keyleth—which creates a party-sized dogpile with all the Vox Machina members.

As the “dust” settles, Trinket, who was on the edge of the pile, lifts himself up and finds Scanlan lying on the edge next to Grog. The bear nuzzles Scanlan’s neck as an apology, which slowly pulls Scanlan out of his dazed state. 

“Trinket,” Scanlan giggles as the bear gets in one final tickle at his neck. He shoves at the bear’s snout. “Come on, cut it out.” 

The bear growls with glee. As Trinket steps back, everyone else begins to slowly emerge from the pile. Eventually, they untangle themselves and stand to stretch their previously squished bodies.

“Well, that was a fight that I bet none of us were expecting,” Vax says as he stretches out his back.

“To think we were taking a day off and ended up fighting each other instead,” Vex mentions. “But that does seem like something we would do, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know about you all,” Keyleth chimes in, “but I thought it was fun. I know I said something earlier with Scanlan’s joke and no one agreed, but I can’t be the only one who thought this was fun, right? I mean, it was enjoyable enough for Percy to join in.” She gestures a hand towards the white-haried man.

Percy crosses his arms. “My hand was forced into the fight, thank you. Under no other circumstances would I have joined.”

Pike shrugs. “Eh, all it takes is a few teases and poking fun at his royal title to get him to hop in,” she teases and smiles at Percy. Percy rolls his eyes, though he returns a warm smile to her as well.

“It was unexpected, but at least it brightened the mood,” Scanlan says. He turns to look up at the goliath. “You did good, Grog,” Scanlan compliments.

“Hehe, thank you,” Grog takes the compliment. He blinks a few times and puts a finger to his chin. “Um…what exactly did I do good again?”

Vax pats him on the arm. “You were just being yourself, big guy.” 

“And we love ya for it,” Pike hugs his ankle. 

“Aww, come here, you!” Grog picks her up in a gentle, but firm hug, then places her on his shoulder with a grin.

Some would say that they’re one odd bunch of adventures, but to them, they’re just one big happy family.

[screechingfromthevoid]

I think the kids are waiting at the sun tree. They've never really done that before. Sleeping by the sun tree. But as they watched their parents and their friends disappear, with fear in their eyes, it was a day full of firsts.

Wolfe ends up running off in a sort of fit. Leona runs after him. They both feel more at home in the woods. They probably went there to calm down. Vesper, as the oldest, decided she needed to get some things in order. Just in case.

And Gwen was going to leave, sneak into her father's office, past all his traps and rigging, until she notices Vax just standing there. Staring at the seams in the bark that aren't really there. She watched him collapse, sitting crisscross on the roots.

So she stayed. She sat next to her big brother, close and leaning on him. Though, she wasn't there looking for support. She had watched his cocky, teenage attitude melt away into a panic. Vax'ildan was panicking.

"They'll be okay," she told him. "They're the heros of the realm. They'll save uncle Vax and the world and come home." She sounded so sure. He had to believe she was right.

They stay there though. For hours. It might have been the most time the pair ever spent with each other. The sun starts wane and their home turns golden and their parents aren't back yet.

Leona and Wolfe come back, their faces red and a little dirty. They hadn't even taken their leathers off. Like they were going home when they saw their siblings still waiting. They flank their siblings, Leona wrapping an arm around Vax's shoulder and Wolfe taking Gwen's hand. Also contented to wait.

The sky is purple by the time Vesper came with blankets, pillows, and large boxes from The Slayer's Cakes. She had all of her siblings favorites picked out. Trinket 's bear claws for Leona. Sun treats for Gwendolyn. Trayon's Blondies for Vax. Keyleth 's almond bark for Wolfe. And her own personal favorite Everlight-as-Air Scones. She brought enough to count as dinner. She wasn't their head of household. She was their big sister. She didn't need to make sure they ate well or went to bed on time. That wasn't her job. Not yet.

The stars were out that night for them, granting them the family time that they desperately needed. They laughed and stole each other's pastries. They danced around any subject related to parents or their aunts and uncles away. Hunting and tinkering and spying were all fair game. The twins fought, Vax'ildan rolled his eyes and they got him to smile. Gwen listened carefully. Vesper counted the hours since their parents left.

She thought the sun might rise and they'd never see them again. She thought they would have to gather their things in the morning sun and start their new lives emerging from the roots on the sun trees. She thought-

The bark of the sun tree cracked and groaned as it split. All of the De Rolo children held their breaths. Aunt Pike, Uncle Scanlan (in centaur form?), the ashari man, Uncle Grog, a very beautiful and very scary elf woman.

Then father. Then mother hanging on the arm of a strange man they recognized immediately.

[blackveine]

My CritRole/TLoVM Fic Rec List Pt. 1

What it says on the tin! A list of my favorite fics I highly recommend, sorted by pairing and rating! Specifics (i.e. whichever character(s) the POV follows) will be listed in parentheses after the creator!

Finally, let me know if any of the links aren't working, and:

---------------Remember to mind the ratings and tags!---------------

Gen:

G

How We Do This - CurrieBelle (Vox Machina-centric)

It Might Sting a Little - CurrieBelle (Percy, Vex & Vax-centric)

they left no instructions (just a legacy to protect) - zornslemon / @acommonrose (Percy & Keyleth-centric)

Old Friends and New Tricks - Listless_Songbird (Percy-centric)

Before the Sun Sets - 8brains (Percy-centric)

New Friends and Old Wounds - RyanIsMyNamee (Percy-centric)

(good is) not a thing you are - pearwaldorf / @pearwaldorf (Pike & Percy-centric)

Not His Time - LadyOfSnakes / @infanttree (Percy-centric)

Never Letting Go - icarus_chained (Grog & Percy-centric)

simple, like mud - jude_writes (Pike & Percy-centric)

we are full of stories to be told - redledgers / @buckysleftarm (Percy & Keyleth-centric)

An Older Brother - orphan_account (Grog-centric)

Five times an object spoke to Percy (and once he’s glad it didn’t) - Jadesfire / @jadesfire (Grog & Percy-centric)

Who Lives - troubleinmind / @acesgroupchat (Percy-centric)

moon threads - Bitterblue / @politeyeti (Vex & Vax-centric)

Pelor’s light - Bitterblue (Johanna de Rolo & Percy-centric)

helplessly hoping - dancer4813 / @dancerwrites (Pike-centric)

There’s Sun on My Skin Now - Razzledazzy / @razzledazzy (Cass & Percy-centric)

The (Un)Lucky Seven - littlecajunlady (Vesper de Rolo & Percy-centric)

not in what they say (just in who they are) - mischiefseven (Vox Machina-centric)

Never Far Away - SETI_fan (Pike & Percy-centric)

exception - exhaustedwerewolf / @exhaustedwerewolf (Pike-centric)

Identify - pok3d3x (Pike & Percy-centric)

Better Angels - SETI_fan (Pike & Percy-centric)

Grief takes many forms - Multifandom_damnation (Cass & Percy-centric)

Light, Light, Light - gayshitiguess / @gayshitiguess (Percy-centric)

Saint of Forge and Fire - moonblooch / @moonblooch (Percy-centric)

Deprivation - SETI_fan (Percy & Vox Machina-centric)

Quiet Moments - RJMeta / @rjmeta (Pike & Percy-centric)

Without Words - DarkHorseAsh (Percy, Vex & Vax-centric)

Music Soothes the Savage Beast - EmberForge (Percy & Scanlan-centric)

Death Defying - space_birdie / @spacebirdie (Vox Machina-centric)

first night - lostsometime (Pike-centric)

I Must Have Done Something Good - romeoandjulietyouwish / @romeoandjulietyouwish (Percy & Keyleth-centric)

There’s an Endless Road - romeoandjulietyouwish (Cassandra & Percy-centric)

like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun - primasveraas / @primasveraas-writing (Vax-centric)

no time to waste on giving up - seemeeimbeebee (Cassandra-centric)

A Knock on the Door on Winter’s Crest Eve - Monarchetype (Percy-centric)

three months on a boat after the end of the world - anonymousAlchemist / @anonymousalchemist (Percy-centric)

Moving Towards the Future - Pearl09 / @pearlll09 (Percy & Cassandra-centric)

The Nightmares Never Stop - Pearl09 (Percy-centric)

a familiar face - romeoandjulietyouwish (Percy & Cassandra-centric)

One, Two, Switch-a-roo - Allise / @starringbaguette (Percy & Vox Machina-centric)

blood and water - romeoandjulietyouwish (Cassandra & Percy-centric)

despite everything - EssayOfThoughts (Cassandra & Percy-centric)

Lullaby - NKMLN / @ninja-kitty-more-like-no (Percy & Vax-centric)

Blooms that Bind - Duganator01 / @duganator01 (Vox Machina-centric)

Well, there was this one boy... - PumpkinPieTimb / @natureismynature (Percy & Laudna-centric)

The Cost of that Subduing - tanjirosbisexualearrings / @tanjirosbisexualearrings (Percy-centric)

your hands, wide open in wary invitation - saintsurvivor / @saintsurvivors (Vex-centric)

History doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme - MangoPipino (Percy-centric)

[hartmanpym]

Hartman Thoughts 💭

I’ve had these thoughts in my head and need to get them out — Vaxleth is my newest obsession and especially thinking about wild Keyleth and tame Vax in bed (he's not that tame but you know).

Vaxleth sexy times, do you think the first time keyleth rides vax his mind is instantly mashed? beCAUSE she’s always been so shy and meek, but when it comes to this she likes to take control and undo vax so badly.

On the flip side, vax is a lot less confident, kind of shys away from it, maybe he’s a sub? enjoys keyleth’s pleasure more than his own? does it have to do the self sacrificial armour he wears??

Vax pretty much explodes as soon as keyleth starts riding him. nothing is stopping her. vax daydreams about this forever… and gets super distracted… and flushes so red when they’re talking some super business secret army stuff when keyleth meets his gaze across the room. and he’s red as a TOMATO. because how can Kiki be such a warrior but such a freaK IN THE SHEETS.

Vax worships this woman as if she is his air

Keyleth loves this man, and would do anything for him especially different sex positions

anyWAYS, thanks for coming to my ted talk teehee

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

I cannot believe that the Verin / Keyleth ship was what broke me free of my crippling case of writer's block. Enjoy the first excerpt here, and read here on AO3!

-----

For what was probably the millionth time that week, Keyleth wished people would stop tiptoeing around her like she was the last fragile leaf on a snow-covered tree. They murmured condolences, then promptly avoided her like the plague as she sat on the bench staring at the Raven Tree of the Ashari.

It was the anniversary of the Whispered One’s defeat.

Which meant it was also the anniversary of Vax’s life getting stolen away by the Matron.

Even though forty years had now passed by since that day, the wound felt too fresh for her liking. Not that it was entirely her fault. Some of it was, of course, she wasn’t blind to her own damage. But people continued to poke and prod at her tender, healing heart until it broke and bled. The ravens kept on circling overhead like the scavengers they were. Keyleth would make real, honest progress, only to have someone or something throw painful reminders back at her like Grog used to throw Keyteor.

And so, Keyleth sat. She tried to push down the feelings of unrelenting bitterness as she made eye contact with the single corvid perched in the Raven Tree before casting her gaze over the rest of Zephrah.

Things were good. Peaceful. It’d been a long while since the last crisis, and she could appreciate that her duties had eased off into cordial diplomatic meetings and occasional trips to visit friends across Exandria. Keyleth was supposed to be heading to one of them in a few hours; a memorial service in Vasselheim with the remaining members of Vox Machina and their families.

As usual, Keyleth would be going alone, if you didn’t count the raven she was currently staring at.

She would have asked Korrin and Vilya to join her, but as Air Ashari Elders, they were required to stay and watch over Zephrah in Keyleth’s absence. And bringing any of her guards just felt…wrong. Keyleth’s unique contributions to Exandrian history caused the new generation of Tempest Blades to revere her as a symbol of their culture. Of those serving her in the present day, Orym would unquestioningly be the least likely to engage in such hero worship (even then, he still had moments of idolisation), but he was visiting the Silken Squall with Dorian. And who was Keyleth to deny the man some well-deserved time with his in-laws?

Besides, it was not like Keyleth needed her Blades. She was capable of protecting herself and would be surrounded by other influential figureheads, all with guards of their own. She only wanted company.

“Company that doesn’t have a beak and feathers,” she said aloud to the raven still watching her, expression caught halfway between anger and disappointment.

“Do you want me to shoo her away?” asked a voice over her shoulder.

Keyleth spun in surprise. Who’d have the stones to sneak up on one of the most powerful druids in existence? She could have blasted them with a lightning bolt in a half-second!

Dressed in a simple, dark outfit rather than his regular armour, Verin Thelyss stood behind her. His white hair was tied up in a casual ponytail, although a few strands had fallen loose and hung to frame his sharp blue eyes and soft smile. He looked far too charming despite the irritation Keyleth could only imagine the oppressive sunlight was causing him.

[critter-genfic-events]

Hurt/Comfort Fic Recs!

This week, we have thirteen hurt/comfort fics recced! Some emotional hurt/comfort, some physical whump, and sometimes combinations of the two. Check them out under the cut, and as ever, comment or kudos if you like them!

those that crawl and flutter towards the sun by vietbluecoeur (vietbluefic) (6163,Not Rated) Warnings: Major Character Death, Very Mild Insect Imagery, Mortality and Discussions Thereof, Sad & Gentle Ending Pairings: Jester Lavorre & Essek Thelyss

Essek has always been warned not to touch the creatures, called the in’luthin, "insects" with a lifespan of three days, but what harm is there in just looking? And anyways, when has Essek ever been one to listen?

Reccer says: From the very first words, this fic has such a luxurious weight to it. Some of the Mighty Nein appear, but this is definitively a story between AroAce Essek and AroAce Jester as bittersweet as the tags imply, only less bitter and more longing, and definitely, definitely sweet.

Spit, elbow grease, and a whole lot of gold by Multifandom_damnation (2006,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Ashton Greymoore & Milo Krook

The Nobodies dump Ashton off on Milo's table, and Milo does his best to fix him

Reccer says: Milo voices all of my rage at Ashton's treatment wonderfully. The fic also does a great job of managing the actual process of fixing him, along with all of the emotions involved as well

Philia, Is That You? by Professor_Rye (2034,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Yasha & Mollymauk

Yasha gets hurt protecting Mollymauk from assholes, and the Mollymauk helps Yasha make sure she's actually okay

Reccer says: QPRs my beloved

Crowned Teeth (or, An Offering Revoked) by fruitzbat (130570,Mature) Warnings: Frank depictions of PTSD/galley slavery Pairings: Kingsley Tealeaf/Original Character

Kingsley is mutinied against and sold into slavery halfway across the world. He breaks out, finds out the mutiny was the inside job to end all inside jobs, and makes his survival everyone else's problem.

Reccer says: I really, really like the way that this series explores different kinds of hurt and trauma, and how those kinds of hurt affect people's relationships and self-image. The first and second fics in the series are the most direct about the subject, but the third has a lot about what it means to lose a parental figure and complicated grief/trauma response stuff that I found really refreshing. Characters are messy and non-linear in their healing, and do their best to take care of each other. There's a lot of...I don't know how to say this, but a very no-bullshit look at the concept of the power of love that is this through-thread through the stories. Anyway, I really like them.

Trust by silversky (403,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Caleb & Nott

Nott is sick and delirious, but thankfully there is someone there to make sure she's okay.

Reccer says: the fic is very soft and warm

Scar Tissue by Belphegor (0,Teen) Warnings: scars, canon-typical violence, reference to main character death (and resurrection) Pairings: Scanlan Shorthalt/Pike Trickfoot

Sometimes surviving means learning to live with the scars that killed you. Pike knows a lot about that. Scanlan is still learning. (a little comics set a bit post-Campaign 1.)

Reccer says: Author here - sorry, I usually don't shamelessly self-plug like that, but I set out to write and draw post-campaign 1 hurt/comfort dealing with Pike's and Scanlan's different resurrection-related traumas, and I poured my entire heart into it. (turns out making comics is hard but totally worth it.)

I've Held You in the Plan by CitizenMocha (4015,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Vex & Vax

After all is said and done with the Apogee Solstice and its aftermath, Vox Machina free Vax from the Malleus Key. The twins are reunited. Rest, reflection, and a revelation about what happens next ensue.

Reccer says: Vex's grief is palpable throughout the entire fic, even as--especially as, actually--she's reunited with Vax. It's a heartaching yet triumphant look at what might happen when the events of C3 are all said and done. There's so many little details woven in that serve to make it pack even more of a punch ("Vax Speed" does so many things to my heart) and the dynamic between all of Vox Machina is wonderful as well.

The Night is Starting to Ache by CitizenMocha (3872,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Gwendolyn De Rolo & Vax De Rolo & Percy De Rolo

Set after episode 76 of campaign 3. It's the middle of the night and Gwendolyn is afraid to sleep.

Reccer says: I loved this glimpse of an older Percy as a loving, indulgent father doing his best to comfort his child.

maybe then my breath could embody by lunarblazes (1331,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Caduceus & Calliope Clay

Calliope and Caduceus have a fun bonding moment about the fucked up shit that happens when you leave home

Reccer says: There's so many little details I love in this, it's perfectly in character, and I love their sibling not-quite-comforting each other dynamic

a garden in the stars by wanderingBasilisk (2264,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Caduceus & Fjord

Caduceus stays back on the Nein's spaceship while the others run errands on a space station. When Fjord gets overstimulated from the crowds there, Jester brings him back to the ship and to Cad, who knows just what his friend needs.

Reccer says: It's very atmospheric (the description of the garden on board the Nein Heroez is So Evocative) and the familiarity and care between Cad and Fjord is so lovely and sweet. The time they've spent together and the comfort of a well-worn routine is apparent throughout the whole fic and comes together in the sweetest way.

Canities Subita: An Exploration of Self-Image by oversteepedearlgrey (1760,Teen) Warnings: Choose not to warn Pairings: Percy & Vox Machina

Percy hates looking in the mirror. He keeps his hair short and out of his face. He can’t wear his glasses during haircuts, and he certainly can’t be the one cutting it. It takes a creek, a bear, and a panic attack to find out why.

Reccer says: Percy is wonderful for hurt comfort, but I love the way that this is handling something that is more emotionally distressing than physically painful.

A Pirate's Bounty of Gold Doubloons by bluegreenamber (1823,Mature) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence Pairings: Kingsley & Yussa

Kingsley hadn't been expecting any company today, especially not a powerful (and injured) elven wizard seeking refuge.

Reccer says: It's a really fun pairing!

Miles to Go by Crewe (3621,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

After a grueling battle, Vox Machina is hours away from the nearest cleric racing to get an unconscious Keyleth to Pike before poison takes its toll. Scanlan is hiding an injury to keep attention on Keyleth. It’s maybe a little worse than he expected.

Reccer says: Lovely fic where everyone is perfectly in-character, and the humour and tension are balanced just right, as are the worry and deflection (on both sides). Special mention to the Scanlan & Grog and Vex & Scanlan pairings, those add just the necessary acid-sweet icing on the h/c cake!

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, we'll be featuring Yasha!

Then, it'll be clothes, time skip/future fics, and pranks!

Any fics coming to mind?  Well, then use this form to submit!

If you're looking for some more, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[demigoddessqueens]

Can I request with a female reader whose a fire, Ashari, along with them being a High Elf, singing this to Keyleth from Vox Machina.

Sure thing!

Masterlist 12

a/n - bit of some unrequited, one-sided, fluff and angst, (BECAUSE I LOVE THAT TROPE), spoilers of recent episode batch

You had been adding the finishing touches to your song piece as the night was dying down, and there was one person you wanted to share

Knocking at the Druid’s door, your heart was racing in anticipation.

“Vax I’m not—oh…hey, wh-what are you doing here?”

Keyleth was the slightest surprised to see you here, but she was not one to deny you a visit. Shared but distant kinship and all

“Well since you’re not at the party, I’d figure I would bring some of the party to you.”

Letting you in, Keyleth noted the lute and parchment in your hand.

“You wrote a song for me?”

“Of course! Figured you could use a pick-me-up.”

She smiled at your request as you made yourself comfortable. Keyleth sat opposite of you on the bed

Strumming along the strings, your voice started off quiet before gaining more confidence each note.

You look so pretty and I love this view

We fell in love in October

That's why, I love fall

Looking at the stars

Admiring from afar

My girl, my girl, my girl

You will be my girl

My girl, my girl, my girl

You will be my world

My world, my world, my world

You will be my girl

You always had a nice singing voice, Keyleth mused. She was glad you were here with her. Things hasn’t gone the way she ideally hoped but it was a comfort you considered her feelings. Was it possible to hold feelings for two at once or was that too selfish of her.

Just slightly down the hallway, Vax could hear your singing to Keyleth. It felt like a bitter loss on his end, him being too much of a damn coward and your bond with Keyleth long established before you all met.

He cared for you deeply as he did for the rest of his friends, but wounds cut deep all the same. You were there for her in a way he hadn’t been.

[ravendruid]

Hi 👋 I would love to see Vaxleth in number 27 kissing in the rain 💛 I love your writing so much btw

Hii!!! Thank you so much for sending a prompt! :D I hope you like it as much as I do ^_^ (And thank you for the compliment :D :D :D)

A Kiss In The Rain

(Read on AO3)

Rain is fun until it isn’t and, at this point, Vax’ildan is getting fed up of the second day of pouring outside. He wants to get out of this stuffy, snobby, much-too-large castle where he feels like he’s being watched at every moment of the day, which he probably is, considering his stomach can’t growl without a servant immediately coming over with a tray of food.

It doesn’t help that everyone he wants to hang out with is locked in the workshop with Percival, going over sketches, doing calculations, and planning things that are far more complicated than what Vax’s brain can comprehend. It sucks that both his sister and his girlfriend instantly bury themselves with work whenever they visit. 

“Mr. Vax’ildan?” A young maid calls his attention. Vax rolls his eyes at the title and looks over his shoulder, decided to give her a word or two about calling him that, but then he sees she is holding a piece of folded parchment and nods instead. “This is for you,” She says, handing the paper.

“From whom?” Vax asks, politely as he takes hold of it. He recognizes the feel of the parchment from the same in Percival’s sketch book. If this is a summons to that stuffy, smoldering workshop… 

“Miss Keyleth, sir,” The maid replies. The title, again, makes Vax’s stomach roil. Why would Keyleth send him a written note through a maid when she can just call him on the earring?

“Thank you,” Vax nods, then leaves the maid behind. 

The note is simple and effective—Meet me at the Widow’s Garden, right now—but it doesn’t answer any more of Vax’s questions. Nonetheless, Vax still obeys because that’s his super-powerful druid girlfriend who can call lightning, and he’s not sure she won’t do just that if he fails to show up when she summons him.

“Keyleth?” Vax calls as he transposes the unlocked iron gate. The garden has had better days, but Vax knows Keyleth has been working with Percy to fix it. “Is there a reason why you called me to meet you out here? It’s fucking pouring, love.” He calls again, to no response.

Vax wanders around for a minute or two, looking in every nook and cranny for the familiar flaming red hair of his girlfriend or for any out-of-place animals, but he doesn’t see anything. He’s almost determined to head back to the castle when he hears a twig snapping behind him.

“Who’s there?” He holds two daggers out in front of him, ready to face the threat.

“Relax, Vax. You know I could snap you in two before you even flung that thing at me,” Keyleth mocks him. She’s not totally wrong. 

“Hey,” Vax greets her. He allows his shoulders to sag with relief and stores the daggers back in their belt. He sees her now, so beautiful and soaked to the bone, just like he is. Her beautiful teal dress sticks to her skin, hugging all her curves, which makes Vax smirk as he lets his gaze wander to her chest.

“My eyes are up here,” Keyleth hooks her finger under Vax’s jaw to bring his face back up. She’s smiling knowingly, a smile she always gives him when she catches him adoring her—which happens way too often.

“Not my fault you wanted to meet in the rain,” Vax shrugs. He wraps his arms around her waist and laces his fingers at her back. Keyleth does the same around his neck. “Why, though? I’m soaked and miserable, and I’m gonna smell like a wet dog.”

“I’ll dry you up, don’t worry,” She smiles. Vax could get lost in her smile. It’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen—correction, Keyleth is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. “I figured you were bored up there and you needed to get some air.”

“In the rain?”

Keyleth nods. Vax holds his breath when she leans her forehead down to his and closes her eyes. He feels her breath in deeply, as if she’s trying to commit the scent of him in the rain to memory, then exhale. “I–I wanted to do something,” She mumbles, allowing Vax to hear the sound of insecurity in her voice. It’s only with him that Keyleth lets down the mask and allows herself to feel and talk about her insecurities, which Vax appreciates. He believes in her more than he has ever believed in anyone, so he knows she can be confident and strong, but Keyleth still needs reassurance once in a while, and he’s glad he’s there to give her that when she needs it the most.

“In the Widow’s Garden, in pouring rain?” Vax teases her by wiggling his eyebrows. 

“W–what? No! Vax!” Keyleth scolds him playfully. “It’s not t–that!”

“Alright, then, what is it, love? Should I be worried you’re attempting to kill me, then?” Vax keeps teasing his girlfriend until she gives him a shaky smile. 

“I wanted to do this,” Keyleth ends up saying, more confident, and then she places her hands on the back of Vax’s head and brings him in for a kiss. 

When the shock at the intensity of the kiss passes, Vax fully embraces his half-elf druid girlfriend, raising a hand to steady her back as he responds by deepening the kiss. His blood feels like fire at the feel of Keyleth’s body pressed against him, but not the kind of fire that usually makes them end up tangled in bed. No, this fire is different. This is a fire that makes Vax think about the future with Keyleth, to imagine the days of following her on her work trips; of her coming home to a hot, homemade meal and a nice, relaxing bath; of the tiny freckled, red-haired babies Vax would love to have with her one day. It’s a fire that makes him want to get on his knees and ask Keyleth to be truly, wholly his forever, to take him to be truly, wholly hers forever.

But the kiss ends and Vax regrets having to come back from his reverie. Yet, there is a different shine to Keyleth’s beautiful green eyes, a shine that lights a flame of hope inside of Vax that maybe, just maybe, Keyleth felt the same way he did just now, that one day she will take him by the hand and ask him to stay, because they both know that it is her step to take, not his. 

“Are you still angry at me for making you come out here in the rain?” Keyleth asks, fondly caressing his face.

“I could never be angry at you, Kiki. Never.”

Vax kisses her again, and again, and again. They stand kissing in the pouring rain until the clouds part and Vex’ahlia and Percival find them soaked but happy, with blushing faces, and once Keyleth dries them off with a touch of her magic and they join the other couple in the dining room, Vax thinks that, maybe after all, this castle isn’t that bad. As long as Vax has Keyleth at his side and his twin is happy in the arms of the man she loves, Vax knows they will be alright.

[aq2003]

small reclist for percy and keyleth-centered friendship fics that make me feel the shrimp emotion! because i want to (and i recently reread them all) (and i may now be a little bitter lol)

[elliesgaymachete]

Vexleth - number 22 (in a rush of adrenaline)

Vex noticed the ambush a split second before it happened. The crunch of dirt underfoot and the twang of drawn bows gave it away. She wasn’t sure how many, but she knew they were outnumbered.

“Keyleth, get down!” was all she could shout before the hail of arrows began.

She shoved Keyleth prone, so most of the arrows missed her, but a few grazed Vex in the process. She drew her own bow.

“What do you think, darling?” Vex muttered. “Should we show them not to underestimate us?”

Keyleth nodded. “Definitely.”

Her form began to shift as she lunged for the nearest archer. Vex smirked, satisfied that Kiki could take care of herself.

Vex sent arrows toward everyone she could see. Most of them went down in one hit, easy. They have must been petty thieves, looking to cut the purses of some unsuspecting looking women. They had know idea what they were getting into.

Vex didn’t bother killing them. She hoped, at least, that this would teach them a lesson.

After she downed four masked figures, she turned to see how Keyleth was faring, only to find a spellcaster towering over her, magic sparkling at their fingertips. She gulped.

Just then, a roar pierced the air as the caster was tackled by a large, predator cat, paws the size of their head, claws out. The figure crumpled to the ground, and as the beast stood, it shifted back into the familiar visage of her friend. Keyleth tripped over the legs of the person she had just knocked prone and stumbled into Vex’s arms.

She looked up, panting heavily, and gave Vex a shy smile.

Gods, she was beautiful.

Vex’s heart pounded in her chest from the rush of battle, but also from the way the sunlight hit Keyleth’s eyes, setting the green irises aflame. Her grip tightened around Keyleth’s waist, her gaze dropped to soft lips.

Keyleth’s eyes grew wide and a blush colored her cheeks. “Vex…” she started. “What are you—?”

Vex cut her off with a swift, lingering kiss. She could hear her own heart thrumming in her ears, she could feel Keyleth’s pulse thrumming under her fingertips, she could taste the sweat on her lips.

When they broke apart, Keyleth was still panting, but it wasn’t from the fight this time.

“Vex’ahlia,” she whispered, as she anxiously fiddled with a strap of armor on Vex’s chest. “What was that for?”

Vex shrugged. “I wanted to,” she admitted.

Keyleth’s eyes were still wide and her mouth hung open in shock. She didn’t say anything for a moment, and Vex hastily began to pull up her own walls again.

“Is that a problem?” she added, with just a bit too much defensive contempt. Vex felt a little guilty for lashing out, but this seemed to snap Keyleth out of her daze. She blinked.

“No,” Keyleth said quickly. She wrapped a hand around the back of Vex’s neck, brushed a thumb across the line of her jaw, and smiled. “No. No problem at all. I liked—er—you can do it again. If you want.”

Vex couldn’t help but chuckle at Keyleth’s nervous mannerisms. She brushed a red lock out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She let her hand linger and gently cupped her cheek.

“As you wish.”

This time, as Vex leaned in, Keyleth stood on her tip toes and met her lips in the middle.

[sunstone-smiles]

One Loud Game of Hide and Seek

Original request: "Hey! I just noticed you are considering writing for tickletober! I was wondering if I could please request some ticklish Scanlan for day 4, prompt "upside-down"? Thank you and good luck!!!"

Author’s note: Happy Day 4 of Tickletober everyone! And we’re celebrating with my first Vox Machina fic! Here’s Day 4: “Hide and Seek” and “Upside Down” from August’s Tickletober List and Nim’s Lovely Tickletober List! I hope you enjoy! (P.S: Happy (belated) Legend of Vox Machina season 3 release day!)

Series: The Legend of Vox Machina

Characters: Scanlan, Vax, Keyleth, Pike

Word count: 1,358

Summary: Scanlan is the first one caught in a game of hide and seek, so Vax gets a mischievous idea to use Scanlan to his team's advantage instead of letting him go so easily. 

---

“Scanlan, where are yooou?”

Vax’s voice sings. There’s footsteps. Quiet breathing. Mostly darkness. A sliver of light seeps below the crack of the kitchen cupboard, the place where Scanlan has squeezed himself into to hide.

The twins of Vox Machina had got into some sibling banter about who’s better at stealthing and who’s better at perceiving. Thus, a friendly competition was proposed. Vex and Vax roped four out of their other five party members into a game of hide and seek to prove their point, splitting them into even teams of three. 

With how things are looking right now though, Scanlan might be regretting that he agreed to play against someone with a solid track record for successfully slinking through shadows without a sound. 

Scanlan waits and listens for a moment. Another pair of footsteps. Then another. All three of them are here. He hears the chatter of Keyleth and Pike trying to communicate with their teammate, Vax, about the whereabouts of Scanlan’s location. 

His source of light is blocked as their shadows approach. He remains silent. After more discussion, their shadows pass and the footsteps continue. If he’s going to make a break for it, now would be the time to do so. 

Scanlan quietly pushes the cupboard open, then peeks behind it. Vax, Keyleth, and Pike have their backs turned. Perfect. He tiptoes out of the cupboard and towards the door. 

Stealth, however, is not on his side today.

“There he is!” Keyleth spots him.

Run.

Scanlan takes off for the doorway. Before he makes it halfway, Keyleth curls up her fist and a vine sprouts from the ceiling. It whips towards Scanlan then wraps around his leg, yanking him up off his feet and dangling him upside down over the ground.

“We got him!” Pike cheers. All three of them approach Scanlan as he sways from the remaining momentum of his trap.

“Okay, okay. You found me,” Scanlan admits defeat. “I’m out. Now will you put me down?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Keyleth raises her hand.

“Hold on there, Kiki.” Vax stops her, a smile on his face. “We don’t know where Grog and my sister are yet. Maybe Scan-man knows where they’re hiding.”

Scanlan crosses his arms from his upside down state. “Well, I don’t. So you can stop searching here because you aren’t going to get any answers from me.” He turns his head to the side, eyes closed, with a stern, determined look on his face. 

…Silence. 

Honestly, not the response he expected.

He caves into his curiosity and lifts open one eye, only to be met with Pike smiling up at him with her own arms crossed together.

“So you do know where they are.” Pike’s smile curves to a smirk.

Damn it, Scanlan. Usually you’re a better liar than this. “Okay, so I might know the general direction of where they went, but I can’t just give you an exact location,” Scanlan changes his story.

“Well, then we should take this opportunity to have some fun, shall we?” Vax rubs his hands together and moves behind Scanlan. Scanlan watches him with a confused gaze, but when Vax gives a quick tweak to his sides that jolts through his form like a tickly thunderwave, the pieces all come crumbling together.

Scanlan cranes his neck to look up at Vax with wide eyes. “Oh no, Vax! Don’t–”

“Too late,” Vax smirks. He presses his fingers into Scanlan’s sides. The gnome releases a screech of laughter as the ticklish shock courses through the entirety of his smaller form. He flaps his arms wildly like a baby bird attempting flight as uproars of giggles spill from Scanlan. 

“Vahahahax!” Scanlan finally clamps his arms down and kicks his legs in the air. “Thihihihis is sohohoho cheheheating!”

Scanlan’s movements cause him to swing, although Vax mostly keeps him in place as his skilled hands in lockpicking maneuver their way into hard to reach spots that easily open the door to more of Scanlan’s squeaks and giggles.

“You’re playing hide and seek against a master of stealth, my friend. The odds were never in your favor to begin with,” Vax smiles and moves his hands down to Scanlan’s upper ribs, causing a high-pitched squeak to come from the gnome, as high as some of his highest notes.

“Ooh, bad spot?” Vax teases.

“Ohohohokay!” Scanlan gives in, “Grohohog and Vehehex are hiding in the gardehehehen!”

“The garden is a pretty big place,” Keyleth places a finger to her chin to think; her mouth curls with a smile. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“Keyleth? Was that a rare tease I heard from you just now?” Vax says astonished, but with a proud undertone.

“Hehe, sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”

“Cohohome on! Thihihis is getting ridiculous!” Scanlan remarks through his laughter.

“Nah, we’re just getting started,” Pike smiles. She hops over to Vax and Scanlan. “Keyleth, could you lower Scanlan for me, please?”

“You got it,” the Air Ashari places her hand in front of her. Her palm flashes a warm glow for a moment as the vine follows her hand downward. 

With Scanlan now lowered right above Pike’s head, Pike hops up and grabs Scanlan’s wrists from his sides, pulling them over his head (or in his reversed state, below his head) to allow Vax complete access to wiggle his fingers further up his ribs.

Scanlan screams with laughter and paddles his unrestrained leg above him. The smile that usually pairs with his charismatic features has, somehow, grown even more charming when it’s filled with giggly joy.

“Nice thinking, Pike,” Vax compliments.

“Thank you kindly,” Pike bows her head to accept the compliment with a grin.

“Pihihihike!” Scanlan tilts his head back and opens one eye for a second to make contact with a grinning Pike. “I lohohove it that you’re sohoho strong, but nohohot when you use your strength against mehehehe!” He attempts to tug his arms free with no luck against the mighty Pike.

“What is going on in here?” a new voice calls out from the doorway.

Vex, Keyleth, and Pike halt in their tracks. Scanlan releases an encore of residual giggles as he begins to catch his breath. All four of them look over to the doorway to see Percy throwing his arm up to face palm.

“No, scratch that. Do I really want to ask when Scanlan’s involved?” Percy says.

“Percy! We’re playing hide and seek! Do you want to join?” Keyleth asks.

“I thought hide and seek is supposed to be a quiet game. I could hear Scanlan all the way down from my workshop,” he takes a step into the room. “And would this explain why I saw Vex trying to squeeze Grog high up into a tree earlier?”

“Ah ha! So that’s where they are!” Pike exclaims.

“There’s only one tree in the garden big enough to fit Grog,” Vax mentions. “Thanks for the help, de Rolo. Come on! Let’s go!” Vax motions for Pike and Keyleth to start running out of the room with him.

“Hey, hey, hey! You’re not going to leave me hanging here, are you?” Scanlan catches their attention before they leave.

“Oops! Sorry!” Keyleth holds out a hand to flip him upright; the vine grows around his waist like a rope and quickly lowers him, laying him down on the floor. She then runs off with the others, smiling as she disappears behind the door frame with Vax and Pike. 

Scanlan sits up grumbling to himself and rubs his side as leftover tingles from the tickling begin to fade. Percy chuckles under his breath and leaves the room. At first, Scanlan glares in the direction of the empty doorway, knowing his hide and seek team has already lost their chances of winning. However, his expression soon eases into a relaxed smile.

 It’s going to be hilarious when they catch Vex and Grog from their hiding spot. 

Scanlan stands from the floor, straightens his clothes, and dusts himself off.

“If you can’t beat them, join them,” Scanlan says to himself, then runs out of the room to catch up with the rest of his friends.

[gay-dorito-dust]

Can you do head canons for vox machina after you have to get revived

Depending on how you died, it would’ve hurt the group all the same. Having someone out of their rag tag group meeting an unfortunate end and they’re unable to prevent it from occurring? It’s not a nice a feeling in the slightest.

So it was only natural for Vax, Vex, Percy, Keyleth, Scanlan, Pike and Grog to feel as though they were all partially to blame for your death. It’s a feeling that they would carry with them even after you’ve been revived.

Death wasn’t something one can easily walk away from after being revived and you weren’t any different. If anything the experience of dying then being brought back changed you in ways unknown to yourself until someone were to be upfront about it to you.

Keyleth and Pike would constantly be checking on you after even something as small as a minor inconvenience. Healing you almost straight away even if it was something as small as a paper cut. One of them would always be seen by your side during battles with the additions of Percy and vex acting as long range shooters for opponents Pike and Keyleth couldn’t quite reach with their depleting energy.

Vax would be watching over you like a goddamn hawk, making sure no one tried to pull a fast one over you, always having your back during fights. Vex would also go out of her way to have your back during a fight but in a more discreet manor then the reckless manor her twin would take. Going so far as to scold you whenever you did something reckless in battle or went a little too far out for her liking; But her tone of words and the look in her eyes didn’t match up.

Percy would make upgrades to your weapons or completely make you a new one from scratch when he wasn’t satisfied with the lack of efficiency from your weapon. He’d go through all the processes with you on what does what but it doesn’t really matter as much like Vax he would look out for you in battle, gunning down assailants from a distance and then deny it when confronted about it like…your the only one in the group with a fucking gun dude, I heard gunshots. So naturally I’m going to assume.

Scanlan would take a more light hearted approach in comparison to his friends. Whilst they’re all trying to provide you with protection from any and all harm, the bard would go instead provide you with some company. He’d joke and jest but you noted how his smile reached his eyes nor did his laughter sound completely genuine, Alamo as though he were distracted.

He also makes a mean sandwich so I wouldn’t be surprised if he made an extra special one for you and when you’d ask for the occasion for this random act of service, he’d merely shrug it off as him doing something for a friend.

Grog would probably be protective over you in battle, always picking off the hardest ones so that you would’ve ever have to deal with it yourself. He’s your wall of protection and is more then willing to take all the physical punishment then allow you to even pertain a harmless bruise.

Over all, they would be protective over you in their own way and would gladly form a protective shield out of their own bodies strewn out in front of you if needs be. A good majority of them (Percy, Vax, Vex, etc) have lost good people that were once close to them. They’ve lost you once and there’s no way in hell would they allow that to ever happen again. Get mad at them all you like, try to push them away but they don’t care, their hearts can only take so much breakage despite what their hardened visages would like to say.

[nowyoursoulisforfeit]

What if Percy’s old wounds still bother him? Not just looking at them, no, I mean what if they physically hurt? Nerves frayed and damaged underneath scars cause shocks of pain, fractures that healed wrong because he couldn’t rest - not when the world was out to kill him. Maybe what’s left of Orthax hurts him too.

He hides it like most of his pain because he’s ashamed, because he doesn’t understand that he’s going to be okay if he needs help.

Maybe one night it’s really bad, he got thrown around in a fight and everything aches. He tries to hide it but it comes out in irritability. Maybe Keyleth is the one to notice it so she gets him alone, and then he snaps at her. It’s the first time he’s ever done that, and the moment he realizes what he did, the look in his eyes says it’ll never happen again.

But Keyleth…she’s not mad, not upset, even.

“What hurts?” Is all she asks.

Percy breaks down at that. She takes him back to his room and stays with him that night, taking care of him.

[hartmanpym]

I need more vaxleth smut in my life??? Anyone got suggestions for fics??? 🥵