#minxy answers

[utilitycaster]

Do you think this new option could lead to a break up in the party and some of the characters leaving the group? Because I can't see everyone agreeing that this is the best solution, but I also think Ashton is stubborn enough to refuse to consider anything else

This is going to be a very long answer for what is a pretty short question that could be answered in one sentence, and here's why.

I've gotten a lot of questions in the past week or so that are specifically asking me what I think the future will be - for campaign 3, and for Critical Role generally. And I've gotten a little frustrated by them, which is somewhat uncharacteristic of me because I love having opinions, but the fact is, I don't know and I don't even have strong opinions. So I dug into that, and why people might be asking these things more than usual, and I really think it's because the narrative of this campaign is so constantly under threat of derailment or going in the same old circles that pretty much anyone in the fandom with any sense of narrative structure, and what makes for a well-crafted story is like "so...what's happening." Which is translating as coming to me, a person who is very good at sounding confident and knowledgeable.

I do not fucking know. I share this frustration, and I cannot be the person to clear it up. i am not even the best at narrative or analysis in this fandom; as I pretty frequently state I took the hard STEM option with regards to my education so while I read a lot and have a pretty good sense for the lay person, there are actual like, trained and published writers. For what it's worth several of them are my mutuals and while I'm not putting the rest of this post on them I do feel safe saying they agree that the lack of narrative direction is at the heart of most people's frustrations with this campaign, even if they enjoy the characters. But getting back to the point, I do not know.

Here's where I stand on the actual plot before I go back to the bigger picture. I think that unless Bells Hells decide on their course of action pretty quickly, no ending will really feel satisfying due to that sense of directionlessness - and there are arguments for Bells Hells to take either the Arch Heart or the Accord's plan, though I think the Accord's is far superior, but they need to pick one.

Because of the ongoing issues with this party lacking perspectives that tied in well to this story and having to hinge everything on either one singular interpretation of one single instance in extraordinary circumstances (eg: Dorian), or stuff that feels, as I've said before, retconned, I have generally been extremely amenable to Bells Hells losing party members either through a split or through character deaths. This is not out of any sort of vindictiveness or dislike of characters, but just a hope that now that they know the vibe, the cast will make a character who has a perspective that is relevant to the story (which, FCG is not an ideal example because they happened to be the character who had perhaps best grown from their original concept to fit into the themes of this campaign, but Braius obviously is a very strong character informed by the story as well). I also think that a lot of the indecisiveness is part of the characters' various natures and that will also be a factor, especially since a new character can be both decisive, have a clear point of view, and be a lot more comfortable pissing off the rest of the party to assert it. So: if Bells Hells as they currently stand can decide what to do quickly, no need to break up! But if they can't, yeah, it would be to their and the story's benefit to do so. That's before we get into, for example, the sacrifice required from specifically Imogen or Fearne for the Arch Heart's plan; Ashton is not the one who has to risk their own autonomy for the rest of eternity. They might die in battle, but they will not become a husk housing an ancient hunger. I think the people who might have to do so get to decide.

Now: it may seem counterintuitive to demand a clear direction from a TTRPG, when part of the appeal is that we don't know how it will end, but the thing is, with the past campaigns, we did not know if the party would succeed but we knew that they wanted to do. Vox Machina could have fallen to Vecna but we always knew they were going to fight Vecna. The Mighty Nein's decisions not to get involved with the war are not indecision but rather a very clear decision (do not get involved). Their later reversal of that decision similarly follows from who they are and the richness of their pasts.

Bells Hells does not have that, and the endless circular conversations are both circular in game and a vicious cycle out of it; because we've always been focused on this plot from very early on and because the characters were not developed as strongly, we have a lot of very indecisive people who are too trapped in this crisis to develop and become decisive. In a way, it feels like Matt's been something like the Arch Heart here: saying "oh, THIS would be interesting, I wonder what will happen" at everything when it's like "ok but consequences are like, important, and maybe you should let things play out. I mean, two cycles isn't great but it is still only two; maybe you should actually let your children/players figure this out, even if it doesn't fit your idea of what should happen, instead of throwing yet another new thing at them."

So: I don't know and I don't have answers about Campaign 3 events at this point because, again, as someone who has a pretty good sense of what makes for a satisfying narrative, it has frequently subverted those requirements (which, to be clear, is bad - it's not genre subversion or a masterful play on expectations, it's subverting actual satisfying narrative beats; as someone said on one of my other posts in not quite so many words, it's like storyline-baiting). I know I tend to present my points with confidence, and I am pretty confident about a lot of things like CR lore and said sense of narrative, but like...maybe this guess on the fandom vibe is incorrect, but I think I'm getting these questions because people are saying "hey, do you know where we're going? I think I am reading this map wrong" to me and I'm here to say "no, you're reading it fine, we've gone off the road and are just kinda crashing through underbrush, and maybe we'll hit another road and continue on that and I can give some insight, but also we might go off a cliff, no way to tell."

[harleyquinnzelz]

Can you PLEASE tell me more about Minxie? I already love her so much. Like, I love seeing more people with OPLA OCs in general, but if I read that correctly, she's a CAT and I just... I... Cats... Cat people... my biggest weakness... (Also, please teach me how you made that poster, I need to make something like that for my own OC)

Yes I can absolutely tell you more about my girl!

She's a witch with no actual like... mentor for magic so everything she's learned so far is what she's struggled through on her own. The most reliable magical ability she has though, is the ability to turn into a cat. It is surprisingly useful for when Zoro gets himself into fights as Minxie and Zoro have been travelling together for some time before the events of the show.

Minxie isn't actually even her real name. It's Marina Snow and she was raised by her father after he took her from her mother when she was a little girl, as her father had no other children and, as he was a significant political figure, he needed an heir of sorts. Minxie doesn't remember her mother but knows that her magic must have come from her and she thinks that the name Minxie must have been what her mother called her. She ended up in a not so chill arrang3d marriage until a certain Pirate Hunter arrived on her island to collect a bounty and she highkey ran away from him. So yeah, there may be a very substantial reward out there for anyone willing to return Minxie to her father and husband.

I don't want to reveal too many spoilers but uh... I love her to death and I am absolute trash for Minxie x Zoro!

Also I would be more than happy to help you with a character poster but fair warning, I kind of stumbled my way through mine and what you see is the result of hours of me staring at photoshop essentially whispering to myself 'What the fuck?' Lol. But I can try to help through dms for sure!!!

[ratpoizonz]

Here, have another Picture of Minxy!! 😊

I gave her a piece of cooked chicken, and after taking a couple of nibbles she fell asleep— 👍

AWWWWWWWWWW SHE'S SO SLEEBYYY <3333

[planetsage]

i neeeddddd subby cho in your writing

📌 nsfw, sub!cho, f!reader, begging, spit, m rec oral.

choso easily crumbles under your touch with only the slightest whispers of pressure. of pleasure.

weightlessly. like a dried-up little rose petal ready to dust and disintegrate at just the faintest caress. yet, still, his face warmly harbors a spectrum of reds and pinks that flower and spread down the flush fields and ridges of his neck. he looks so pretty like this. his purple eyes big and glassy pooling into yours with a special kind of desperation only he can be so full he overflows with.

“please ca— n you — ohh” he stammers quietly, his voice trailing, teetering off into a raw, needy cry.

and a breath hitches deep, deep, deep in his throat as you move to kiss and spit and drool all over his pudgy bulge, wetness glistening and spreading against the darkening fabric creating a damp, patch that clings obscenely to his poor clothed cock “can i …?”

with very, very deliberate slowness, you move to nuzzle against him, rubbing the warmth of your cheeks against the cool pool of spit that sticks and leaves a thin layer on your skin. looking at your pretty face like this: pushed up against something so dirty, so sinful makes him twitch with guilt. guilt that he’s soo turned on by the nasty sight. his fingers gripping the sheets tightly, his knuckles bleeding white.

“mmhmm?” you hum teasingly when he doesn’t respond. too busy hanging on your every move and trying not to cum in his pants on the spot. the sound vibrates down his cock, as you look up at him through long fluffy lashes, batting coyly, “can i wha baby?” your words come out in muffled little blurbs against his shorts.

the answer he gives you is a strangled little whimper. a barely audible, gasp: “s-stop teasing,” his body taut, so full of tension, muscles coiled up tight as he fights against the urge to just buck into your little mouth, “please”

leaning in with a minxy smile, you press your warm tongue against the damp fabric, tracing the outline of his thick cock with a slooowww stroke, “ooo— oh my god, baby” you feel him shudder beneath you, then you pull back just enough to look at him.

his eyes are screwed shut, plump lips pink and parted in more pretty gasps, “look at you, my pretty boy” you pause to let your tongue poke out and lick your lips, “you want me to take care of you, hm? that what you want?”

before he can even answer, because you already know, you reach up and tug at the stretchy waistband of his shorts, pulling them down juustt enough to free his impatient cock. it springs up and out, so thick and flushed, pretty strings of sticky precum pulling from the wet material, making your mouth water.

he hisses behind pearly clenched teeth and without breaking that delicious eye contact, you pop your mouth open and plug yourself full, inch by inch, pressing the fat of your thighs together at the way he moans and whines for you, the way his hips jerk up uncontrollably, “ye— yeess feels so good like .. like that, please” your tongue flattens against the slit of his fat tip, tasting the saltiness, your lips forming a tight seal around him before you bob your head slowly, teasingly, letting him feel every corner of your mouth’s warm, wet embrace.

you move to take him all the way in, his flushed tip massaging the back of your throat as tears trigger and spill down your face, your nose brushing against his scratchy pubic hair, “sh— shit bab— haah, lookk so pret— ty hnn” his hands fly to your head, fingers tangling in your hair, not to push you down— no. but to hold on, to grab handfuls and ground himself as you suck the literal soul out of him.

you hollow your puffy cheeks, sucking him harder, your head moving faster. his hips start to move too. thrusting shallowly. silently begging for more, for everything.

“so— so close, please let me cum for you. wanna be so good… so— hahah so goood.”

you swirl your tongue around the sensitive head of his cock. spit pools and spills … everywhere, all over your cheeks, slipping down to his fat balls, making you hum in satisfaction, feeling the vibration travel down his length.

you take him deep again, your throat clamping around him as you push him to the brink. his already vice grip on your hair tightens as he pulses and twitches and throbs in your mouth, your warm soft hands working to jerk and massage what doesn’t fit in your little mouth.

“oh my— fu— gonna haahhnhg.. gonna—”

he cries out, a hot, broken sound as he comes for you. thick and salty on your tongue, and you gulp and swallow up every single drop, milking him fucking dry before moving to softly squeeze his balls, coaxing him to give you his all.

and you hold him there. letting him ride it all out as he hiccups and sniffles so cutely.

“mmmm, did so well, baby,” you murmur, your voice soft and soothing, crawling up beside him to place a gentle kiss on his teary cheeks. “suuuchh a good boy”

© planetsage 2024 all rights reserved. no part of this may be reproduced in any form.

[peach-the-owl]

*Emerges from the depths of the void, drops post* See ya in another few months… maybe… *Crawls back into the void*

Cuddles 2.0

Vox Machina & Child!Reader (Kids Machina)

Pike

You could be a nervous bean more often than you’d like to admit, you loved cuddles but never know when to ask for some. Luckily Pike knows how to read your body language and is more than happy to offer cuddles with you when things aren’t crazy. With time you get braver at asking yourself but it’s always good to know that Pike can always tell when you need one.

Pike’s skill to read your emotions works effectively well on those days where you feel down and lonely, especially when you two are away from the rest of the group to fulfil your duties to Sarenrae. Pike will start by asking if you’re okay, try as you might sometime you just can’t lie to her and she’ll warmly offer to cuddle with you until you feel better.

Keyleth

Cuddles with Keyleth are the best especially when she can wild shape herself into different animals you can snuggle against. You especially love cuddling against her Minxie form, feeling the soft fur under you as you snuggle up to her while she curls around you protectively.

While Keyleth has had her own share of down days, she can’t stand to see the downtrodden look on your face when your mood is low. She’ll scoop you up and hold you close, telling you stories or even singing to an old lullaby she remembers her mother singing to her when she was little. You relax into her after a while as you listen to her and she can’t help feel some pride at how much you trust and depend on her.

Vex

You liked cuddles but didn’t always show it seeing as Vex wasn’t always one for cuddling, thankfully Trinket was. The bear always happy and willing to give you snuggles when Vex was busy. Sometimes while you’re cuddling Trinket, Vex will sneak in and join in, making the cuddle pile extra special.

On days where your condition strongly affects you and you’re feeling useless, Vex will be there to reassure you and hold you in her embrace for as long as you need, telling you over and over that you’re not useless and that she’s happy you’re here with her. Her reassuring words to you always help lift your spirits more and make the bad days more bearable.

Vax

Vax likes his time alone, you understand this, you like your alone time too, but sharing some cuddles every now and again is always nice. The only few times you’ve interrupted his alone time for snuggles are the times he’s in an extra standoffish and distant mood, wanting to lift his mood, it always works or at least helps him feel better.

When you’re the one in a down and distant mood Vax will give you some space at first, give you time to come to him. You eventually do but don’t say anything, letting him talk to you, not about what the issue is, no he won’t push you for that, he’ll sit with you and talk about what he did or how he outwitted Grog in their latest “game”. Slowly but surely making you feel better, while he feels a sense of pride for perking you up again.

Grog

You’re a small, fragile child who likes sharing hugs, he’s a large, powerful goliath who could snap you like a twig if he’s not careful. Thankfully, for both of you, Gorg’s had lots of practice with handling smaller beings

Grog can have a hard time understanding feelings. Especially when you get stubborn and say you’re fine, he accepts that answer until one of the others tells him that you’re 100% not fine. He’s confused, you said you were fine but you were lying? Why would you do that? He doesn’t know exactly what to do so he’ll just scoop you up and keep you close to him until you’re actually feeling better.

Percy

Percy isn’t a touchy feely man always busy, always tinkering. Being his apprentice you get to stay close to him so you could deal with not getting cuddles or hugs. Occasionally when a project of your own goes well and tests successfully he’ll proudly ruffle your hair, it wasn’t much but you’ll take what you can get.

Some days you just don’t feel motivated or worthy of being Percy’s apprentice. When he notices, and he will notice, you’re not in the workshop with him he will drop everything to find you. When he locates where you’re hiding he’ll just talk to help you get your mind off of your troubles and doubts because he knows better then anyone that you are worthy and he couldn’t have asked for a better apprentice.

Scanlan

He’s tried not to get close to you, didn’t want to give the wrong message to whoever he’s flirting with but after that time you called him dad he’s become more open to it, if only a little bit. Scanlan hadn’t realized just how much he’d enjoy something as simple as a hug, sure he’s spent the night with many women, but that pales in comparison to the genuine parental connection he felt when you’d hug him.

When you’d feel sad or upset about something he’s there to cheer you up, with a joke, story or song, anything to see your cheery face again. To the rest of the team’s shock he’s even brushed off ladies who openly tried flirting with him because he saw your watery eyes and pouting expression.

[thessalian]

Thess vs TLOVM S3, Ep 12

Well, Arcane S2 comes out in just over a week, and I wanted to get TLOVM all watched before then, so I think it's safe to say that I Have Done It. Or I will have in the next half-hour or so. That said ... let's go!

'Glorious' new body, huh? Well. It's a look. I guess. I'm sure someone's into that. Rule 34, y'know.

Y'know, Thorshan ... Raidak ... whatever ... that's not what Krishna meant about becoming death. I mean, I guess you're going for the Oppenheimer thing, but ... seriously, they meant time-- Oh, never mind, fuck it, whatever.

GROG!

YES! GO, PIKE! YOU-- Wait. Why is your shield hellfire-orange now?!?

...Good outlook, Grog, buuuuuuut...

This body what-now?!?

Ofuck THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN UNTIL THE WHISPERED ONE FIGHT AT LEAST A WHOLE STORY ARC FROM NOW!

Wow. I just got a screen snip at the best possible time.

(Also, screen-snip is a STUPID-ASS NAME FOR IT.)

YES! NICE SHOT, VEX!

Yeah, no, Pike-- nononono... Fuck.

WaitWUT?!? WHEN DID THIS BECOME TETRIS?!?

That's not going to comfort the man who made an open-ended deal with a death god because of a recent "chance taken"!

Actuallyyyyyyy ... she was more fuelled by ... like ... not having a whole bunch of people die, but ... you know...

Can ... can he actually punch through magic? I mean, hopefully that's not some Prismatic Wall shit...

GOIN' MINXIE! YES! Haven't seen that in, like ... most of a season!

Message for anyone counting uses of Wild Shape right now: FUCK OFF AND ENJOY THE SPECTACLE!

Oooooooooooooooooh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit...

Did ... did you actually plan to get fired there? ...No pun intended?

...I guess he can punch through magic.

.........She has. A plan. ...And I think I know what it is. Feeblemind wouldn't work here. But... She's learned a few things about connections and roots...

She has. A plan. And she has an Earth Elemental form. Buuuuut that's still gotta hurt to see.

'Fancied?!? You do know how weak a word that is, right? 'Fancied' is "you thought she was hot and wanted to hit that"! ...Then again, what would Raishan know about anything else?

Oop.

Here we go.

Roots ... and connections.

WAIT WAIT WAIT NOT WITH THE ORTHAX-GUN!

At least the Orthax-gun probably didn't kill her. Them. It. Whatever.

Oooooooh, Percy...

To quote Marisha herself... "It's a power play; I love it!"

...Ooooooor maybe not-- OMG YOU WENT TO THAT CALLBACK!

I don't know if the Raven Queen's going to like this...

Yeah no.

He's not returning to the After! He needs to be released to get to an after!

...Was ... what that an answer?

That's what you think, Allura.

Kima is so done with this shit.

...Which ... yeah, you have and you did and you will, Champion of the Raven Queen.

Heh. That's going to come into play later, that little feather...

"Against"-- Yeaaaaaaaah.

...Ooooooooh this is creepy.

...They're all trapped in there?!? OH EWWWWWW!

Oh, shut the fuck up, Orthax.

Orthax ... shut. The fuck. UP.

Come oooooooooooon...

Oh. Ooooooooh no. Nonono poor Percy...

...WHAT?!? NO!

.........oh, Percy, nooooooo...

FUCK. OFF. ORTHAX.

Come on, Vex...

No, not to HIM; to PERCY!

Thank you!

brb crying

Aaaaaaaand the feather.

N'awwwwwwww, Vax!

Yes! YEEEEEES!

FUCK YOU, ORTHAX!

WHOA. Literally, apparently.

WOOHOO! BRB CRYING SOME MORE!

ALSO LAUGHING OMG DE ROLO!

Emon being rebuilt and-- Statue of Uriel awwwww!

OMG VEX ILU SO MUCH!

That's ... ominous... WTF?!?

That is ALSO ominous.

AND SO IS THAT.

GROG, SHUT UP. Yeaaaah okay.

We had to have the entire group cheer "GILMORE!" at least once. Something was missing with Gilmore's involvement until just that second, and now it is all complete.

...I am going to find out who wrote this and I don't know what I'm going to feed them for that Meat Man reference but it will probably not be JUST bees. (...possibly also some wasps. And if you get that reference, hello, fellow cross-fandom person!)

I'm sure they've spent Winter's Crest at Whitestone at least once in the campaign. Or possibly that was Emon; I think they had like two Winter's Crests in Emon. Wasn't one of them something about chasing some kind of demon? Meh, anyway, this is a very off-season Easter egg hunt, this entire scene.

...Like Grog talking about loving shopping, when Travis has been known for several campaign to hate shopping 'episodes'.

...Okay, what's he gonna do? Ah ... he's going to leave in a less ... antagonistic way.

And the Aramente ... with Vax?!? And ... a squire to the Voice of the Tempest as the wrong character?!? BWAHAHA.

Ooooooh here's the song.

N'awwwwww. Montage of happy.

...Except for that yick on his wrist...

...aaaand except for the cultist chanting--

...the eyes ... or lack thereof-- GAH FUCK!

Well. Who's glad they announced that their S4 got greenlit after THAT last frame or ten?!?

Now. WHO WROTE THIS?!? Brandon Auman, and Sam. I've talked about both of them before, but I think I'm starting to get a feel for when there's an episode that Sam had a hand in writing? I think it's the trolly little Easter eggs. That's just ... a very Sam thing. But he and Brandon, particularly together, seem to be able to get you laughing, ram a dagger into your heart while you're laughing, and then make you laugh again while you're sobbing with the pain of it. (Also Meredith Kecskemety, whose name I will learn to pronounce.)

Well, that's that. I so very much want S4. I need to see what they do with the Whispered One arc. I really do.

Oh. And. Before I go watch Omn1's take on this ep and then take a week or so's breather before hitting Arcane S2? That screenshot I mentioned:

I mean. Did I or did I not pause at the best time?

[nostalgiachan]

The Aftermath

Twenty-Third Prompt: What is everyone up to a year after the game?

C/W: Blood, alcohol consumption, mildly NSFW in some parts. Somebody gets naked.

Summary: Vier struggles to remember just what the hell happened at Karlach's Big Birthday Bash. (2237 words)

---

Vier awoke face-down in the grass, the taste of blood and bile fresh in her mouth. Every muscle in her body ached as she struggled simply to push herself up to her knees. Her vision swam, and a searing pain set her head to throbbing. Slowly, her view came into focus, and as she looked down at herself, she reeled as she saw her front absolutely smothered with dried blood. Her pulse began to race as she raised her head, and her eyes were met with a dire sight:

A field littered with bodies. The bodies of those she loved.

Tables had been overturned. Scorch marks carved a path across the field, and the ground was pockmarked from what looked to be explosions. A wild bear lay in a puddle of its own blood, and–

“Wait…a bear?”

Through the haze of pain and confusion, the gears of Vier’s mind falteringly ground into motion. It was a long and arduous moment before the thought finally formed.

“...There are no bears in Dawnshire.”

With a groan, Vier pushed herself onto wobbly legs and stumbled her way towards the prone ursine. The closer she got, the more she could smell something that was certainly not blood - no, it was the unmistakably pungent smell of particularly strong alcohol. Eventually, she grew close enough that she could see the bear wasn’t dead, but merely sleeping in a puddle of…feywine. The bear also had a familiar scar on its face, a gnarly scratch across the left side of its forehead.

The sight of that scar was like pulling out a piece of debris jammed between the cogs, and hazy memories finally began to drift up from the inner workings.

The previous night had been Karlach’s birthday party, the one Vier had been working for so long to put together. Their infernal friend, Hope, had surprised them all by not only transporting Karlach and Wyll to Dawnshire, but gathering up just about every other friend who’d wished to attend. Having portals to almost every major metropolitan area in the Sword Coast conveniently located in the House of Hope certainly had its benefits, it seemed. Even Lae’zel, who Vier absolutely hadn’t expected would be able to pull herself away from the war effort in the Astral Plane, had arrived in person.

Everything had gone off without a hitch, she remembered. She’d had the finest food the local butchers and bakers could prepare, there were beverages for every sort of palate, she’d invited bards from the area to perform. Everyone was enjoying themselves to the fullest, and as dusk gave way to night, it was nearly time for the fireworks to begin.

And that was when Astarion had produced the Decanter of Endless Wine, loaded with feywine.

“...Aw, fuck, that’d do it.”

More and more, the memories flooded back. She’d been the first to partake, and it had been just as Astarion had described it - “sweet as summer berries, with a minxy little kick”. Very lovely, very dangerous, the sort of wine that quietly crept up on you and took you when you least expected it. It did not, however, creep up on the non-elves among them, also as Astarion had described. As Vier found herself pouring a second glass while setting up the fireworks, she wondered if Astarion had actually told anyone what it was they were drinking, considering its potentially deleterious effects.

Given the state of things, Vier had to surmise the answer was “no”.

As far as she could remember, Gale had been the first to fall under the drink’s effects, deciding he wished to engage Rolan in a “contest of illusions”. The tiefling’s siblings, Cal and Lia, had egged their brother on, themselves beginning to slip under the feywine’s influence. There was some shouting and boasting about “the Wizard of Waterdeep” and “the master of Ramazith’s Tower” before the two began to conjure increasingly complicated illusions; an impressive feat for ones so inebriated, to be sure. 

Soon, the dueling wizards were summoning up terrifying beasts, until at last, one of them - Vier could not remember the culprit, but had a sneaking suspicion it was Gale - called upon a projection of an Elder Brain. At that moment, a battle cry sounded out.

“Ghaik! Mha stil��na forjun inyeri!” Lae’zel screamed, apparently so lost to the feywine that she thought the illusion was real. She unsheathed her silver sword and charged, nearly skewering both wizards entirely in her madness. Vaguely, she could remember hearing Astarion and Shadowheart having an absolute blast at the show, both well into their third cups.

While their antics had proved wonderfully entertaining, they’d also distracted Vier from her work. She’d returned her attention to the fireworks, and must have missed the exact moment that she’d lost Jaheira, Minsc, and Halsin to the drink. As she set up the mortars in neat lines, something incredibly hot and incredibly heavy suddenly crashed into her, taking her off her feet entirely.

“Godsdamn, you got me whizbangs and everything!” Karlach cheered as she practically grappled Vier on the ground, rubbing their faces together like an excited puppy. “Aww, you’re the best, Vier!”

Wyll quickly came scrambling up behind her, attempting to untangle the two. “Careful there, hot stuff,” he gently chided her. “Explosives, remember? Don’t want to go setting them off early.”

“Ugh, fine,” she pouted as she finally released Vier from her grip and allowed Wyll to haul her up to her feet. “Oi, where’s Dammon gone off to? Need to bend his ear about some stuff. And maybe get more of that…what’d Gale call it? Aqua vitae?”

“Honestly, I think you might’ve had enough for now,” Wyll laughed as he led her away, though even in the low light on the edge of the party grounds, Vier could see he looked a bit concerned for her. Vier couldn’t help but smile; Karlach was in good hands with him.

From that point, the memories grew vague once more. She’d finished setting up the fireworks; had yet another glass of feywine; at some point, Lae’zel’s war against the illusory Elder Brain came to an end, and thankfully, both Gale and Rolan had kept their heads intact; there was something about Lae’zel using Shadowheart’s lap as a pillow.

Of course, her recollection grew sharper once more when Astarion appeared. He’d fallen atop her almost as hard as Karlach had, though he’d notably been stone sober. As he wrapped his arms about her from behind, he purred directly into her ear, “Darling, I think I’ve waited just about long enough. Everyone’s good and drunk now, so I’d like to get good and drunk now, if you wouldn’t mind.”

A flush quickly crept across Vier’s skin as Astarion breathed into her ear. “Wait, you want to do that here? Just out in the open?”

“Well, we could sneak off into the bush if you require some privacy,” he said with a smirk, “but I think everyone else is too preoccupied to pay attention to us. We can try that little trick like last time.”

The way Vier’s vision had just begun to tilt spoke that perhaps she shouldn’t attempt “that little trick”, but her inhibition had grown just loose enough that she’d make the attempt anyway. Nervously, she offered her throat to him. “Alright, just…try to be quiet about it, yeah?”

“Oh, if anyone here’s in danger of making noise, darling, it’s you,” Astarion whispered dangerously into her ear before he sank his fangs directly into her neck. The familiar sensation of bliss coursed through her veins as surely as her blood left them, the sound of his greedy swallowing the only noise between the two of them. She bit down hard on her lower lip as he drew more and more from her. The moment the telltale dizziness set in, she raised a hand to restore herself, and she could almost feel her blood regenerating.

Astarion gripped Vier’s head to hold her steady as they entered the second round. The more he drank, the tighter he held onto her, seemingly desperate not to miss a drop. But as he lost himself in the feeding, he began to grow messy. By the second restoration, Vier’s blood was beginning to pool around Astarion’s lips; soon, it trickled, then ran in great rivulets down her neck, staining the front of her blouse a deep crimson. 

Between the blood loss and the undeniable pleasure of feeding, it was getting harder for either of them to keep quiet. At the third and final restoration, Astarion finally released his hold on Vier, unsheathing himself from her throat with a deep, satisfied moan.

“Gods, it’s like I can taste the sunlight in your veins,” he exalted, “or maybe that’s just the wine.”

As soon as the words left his lips, he seemed to have a moment of revelation.

“Oh. Oh, shit. That might be a problem. Darling, how much have you had to drink again?”

As soon as the world stood still for a second, Vier got to thinking. “I think I’m on, er…four glasses? Why? What’s wrong?”

“Well, there’s a certain old vampire wives’ tale that says if you feed on the inebriated, you’ll pick up their inebriation. So I might wind up just a bit drunker than drunk.” But he waved away the concern with a flourish of his arms. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine! Probably not as bad as it might be if you weren’t a drow. Maybe. Most likely.”

With a bow, he said, “Well, my sweet, I’m off to harass the birthday girl some more while I wait for all this boozed-up blood to kick in. Try not to blow yourself up!”

As soon as Astarion sauntered away, Vier noticed a growing clarity washing over her. She’d restored herself to complete sobriety. Well, she thought, that won’t do at all.

Present Vier was deeply, deeply disappointed in Past Vier’s decision making, as she’d decided to hit the feywine even harder the second time around, making everything after that point an almost total blur. She remembered watching Karlach receive her present, a fantastic new set of infernal iron armor hand-crafted by Dammon. She’d gone to start launching the fireworks, but Karlach had asked if she could do the honors. With a flick of her thumb, she lit the first mortar, and that had been when all the hells had broken loose.

Through some freak accident, the tube tilted and the firework launched sideways, exploding into another of the mortars and starting off a chain reaction. Fireworks launched in every which direction. There were screams in about every language spoken on the face of Toril. Karlach had howled with mad laughter and started picking up some of the mortars and actively aiming them around, starting a firework war as drunken combatants picked up armaments of their own, or even magically conjured projectiles. Tables were flipped for cover. Half the party-goers, and more than a few fighters, had fled for the trees.

She could vaguely remember huddling for shelter behind a crate with Astarion, who had given her a quick, but deep, kiss - his mouth still thick with the taste of her blood - before he dove into the fold, eager for action. After that, all was darkness.

Well, there was nothing to do now, she supposed, but take stock of where everyone ended up. Most had simply fallen asleep in the open field, either alone or in small piles of closest friends and family. A few remained tucked into the trees - Jaheira and Minsc, notably, had remained absolutely sober and looked rather comfortable in a series of vine hammocks Jaheira had conjured up. Astarion, at some point of the evening, had been stuffed into an empty crate; for his own safety, Vier left him inside, as the sun had already cleared the treeline.

Soon, all had been accounted for; all, save for Karlach and Wyll. Vier hoped that they hadn’t already returned to the House of Hope, especially without saying goodbye. The longer she searched, the more she began to feel a bit guilty for all of the drunken shenanigans. Karlach certainly seemed like she’d had fun, which was all Vier had wanted, but she’d also hoped she’d have a nice, relaxing night away from Avernus, not violence and explosions.

But as soon as she stumbled upon the pair, she knew her fears had been unfounded.

The first sign she found of their continued presence on this plane was a discarded pair of boots - clearly Wyll’s. She followed the trail of cast-off shoes, shirts, pants through the woods until at last, she found Wyll and Karlach, stark naked and tangled up in one another, blissfully sleeping in the dappled sunlight beneath a tree. She didn’t want to stare overlong, but damn it, there was just something beautiful about the scene.

Had they been able to have a moment like that together in Avernus? Just the two of them, finally indulging their feelings for one another? Or did the endless onslaught of demons offer them little time for such luxuries? While it was a selfish thought, Vier hoped that last night had given them the chance to get out everything they needed to. In any case, she was deeply happy for them, and while she knew Karlach and Wyll would need to return to the hells quite soon, she wasn’t going to wake them up from that well-earned dream just yet.

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

6. trying to crawl under their shirt

I was thinking about the modern/twitch au when the twins aren’t feeling well so they find their partners talking in a joint chill stream and not really caring that the camera is on, just crawl (or attempt) into their partners shirt. Then Percy and Keyleth just chuckle to one another and continue answering chat questions or whatever conversation they were having before their adorable half-elf’s stumbled in 😂

twitch au

"I've been feeling a lot better lately," Keyleth tells the chat as she answers questions. "Doctor says everything is looking good so it was just a little scare." Her eyes scan the chat for the next question.

Will you and Vax do a group stream soon?

"Yep!" Keyleth grins, "Vax and I have one planned early next week. We're not sure what we're going to play yet, so any suggestions are welcome. And all of Vox Machina are doing a massive stream at the end of the month, going to be doing a bit of everything."

As Keyleth is talking, she hears the door creak open, expecting that it's just Minxie, she ignores it and keeps talking. That is until Vax touches her shoulder and moves her chair back.

Keyleth chuckles, "Vax, what-"

Before she knows what's happening, he lifts up the bottom of her sweatshirt, his really, and wiggles himself under it. Keyleth laughs loudly and turns back to her stream, "For those of you who don't know, Vax hasn't been feeling very well the past few days so it seems like we're going to have a guest for the rest of the stream."

She can't help but laugh as Vax pokes his head out of the top of the sweatshirt and leans on his shoulder, his legs on either side of her hips.

When she turns back, she sees the chat going absolutely insane, saying that he's absolutely adorable. Keyleth runs her fingers through Vax's hair, "So anyway, Vox Machina stream on the last week of the month. Pike and I will probably be doing some baking, we might have a tournament, maybe Mario Kart-"

As Keyleth talks, Vax hums contentedly, squeezing her sides and leaning into her hands. He drifts in and out of sleep for a while, until eventually Keyleth kisses his head, "Vax? Stream's over."

He groans softly, "Five minutes?"

Keyleth's laughter rumbles in his chest in response.

[ravendruid]

I don't want to be alone tonight

This text originated from the scene on episode 42, and then @tiamat-zx sent this prompt, which I added to what I had already written. This text contains spoilers for Keyleth and Vax's meeting in Vox Machina Origins, Volume 1, and episodes 39-42 of campaign 1. This means a lot to me, and I hope you all enjoy it <3

Keyleth paced around in her room, much emptier and colder than it had been for the previous weeks. Her bed had been taken down to the temple to offer some sort of comfort to the refugees, so all she had was a small cot and a pile of blankets. It didn’t bother her, she knew that she could use her beast shape to transform into Minxie and curl up on the ground for the night and that she would be fine. 

Catha was high in the sky, and her armor lay on the ground by the cot, as she had recently taken it off to change her dirty, blood-stained clothes. Keyleth didn’t trust the calmness of the night, not while she could see the light of embers in the direction of Emon, so she decided that it would be best if she slept with her armor. She was about to pick it up when there was a soft knock on her door, so soft she thought she had imagined it.

Vax held his breath. He hadn’t heard any noise from the other side of the door that would let him know Keyleth had heard him or that she was awake at all, and he was about to turn around and leave when there was a soft creak of hinges. Keyleth’s green eyes peeked through the small gap between the wooden door and its frame, defiant at first but soft and caring when they landed on him. 

“Hi.” Her voice was silky soft and sweet like honey, and Vax thought he could die just from hearing it. He tried to muster the courage that had led him there, to her bedroom door at such a late hour, but suddenly his mind was empty of words. 

Keyleth examined Vax, standing in the hallway, still in his armor, with a dumbfounded look. The events of that day ran through her mind, the dealings with the Clasp and how Vax had asked her to burn the tattoo on his back. Was he in pain? Is that why he had gone to see her? But if that was the case, why hadn’t he gone to Pike?

“Hi. I don’t want to be alone tonight, do you?” He finally mustered.

Oh. That’s why.

“I haven’t been wanting to be alone most nights.” Keyleth answered before she stepped away and opened the door to let him in.

Vax stood bashfully in the middle of her room, watching her close and lock the door behind her and admiring how her hair fell in waves down her back. He could remember the first time they met in the swamp, she was a squirrel, and he thought he was hallucinating when he saw her wave at him. He thought of the first time she healed him, the warm green glow of nature on her palms, and all the other times after that, and how the feeling never changed or how it felt like home. 

Keyleth crossed the room before he could say anything and wrapped her arms around his torso, laying her head on the crook of his neck. Vax was taken aback by the sudden movement, but after the last couple days they had, he wasn’t entirely surprised by her assurance, and neither was Keyleth when he wrapped his arms around her and leaned his cheek against her head. 

“Will you stay tonight?” She asked. She realized she wanted him to stay tonight, the next night, and all nights to come, but she wasn’t ready to let him know. Not yet.

“I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me.” He wanted nothing more than to stay with her forever, to hold her in his arms and never let go, but the time wasn’t right, and he would not force it. 

Keyleth’s soft, deft fingers found the buckled straps of his armor, and while they both wore the same kind of leather armor, Vax couldn’t hide a gasp of surprise as she started undoing them with practiced ease, letting it fall onto the floor next to hers.

A massive ancient red dragon was sitting on Emon, the city capital of Tal’Dorei, built hundreds of years ago, now crumbled to dust. The danger was real and close to home, closer to Vax and Keyleth, who had already suffered so much pain at the claws of Thordak himself, but neither of them wanted to think or talk about it. They felt safe with each other. Vax was a lethal shadow who could jump in on their enemies without a sound, while Keyleth was single-handedly capable of summoning lightning and storms, of taming rivers and flames, of moving mountains, and of flying on the brightest of the blue skies.

They lay together on the blankets, the cot not big enough for both, their faces so close that they could feel the other’s warm breath on their lips. Keyleth wrapped one arm around Vax’s torso and slid her hand inside his shirt, resting it on the burn mark between his shoulder blades.

“Does it hurt?” She asked softly. Vax shook his head. If you’ll have me, I’m yours, he had told her, and now he had her mark on his body. Knowing he loved her so much as to have her imprint on his body made her feel dizzy, like she had just woken up from a dream. No one had ever loved her like that. She never thought it was possible at all, and why would she? She was awkward and clumsy, others expected greatness from her, but she was too scared to fail, to disappoint them, to lead them astray. She was destined to a life of loneliness, to witness the death of those she loved and the birth and death of those she would learn to love afterward.

“Stop it.” Vax could see the train of thoughts in her eyes. “You’re amazing and strong, Kiki. You’re kind and gentle, and you will be a great leader to your people one day.”

Vax always knew what to say, he always knew what she was thinking and how to stop the bad thoughts. He brought a sense of calmness to her that she couldn’t describe, as if the faith he had in her was all she needed to move on. It was astonishing how sometimes he placed his faith in her so blindly and made her feel like some divine being.

“I love you.” Vax whispered. Keyleth’s eyes filled with joy, and her heart swelled with love. She might not be ready to say it back out loud but after all that had happened, she knew she couldn’t wait a second longer without him knowing how she felt, so she slowly closed whatever distance was between their mouths and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to Vax’s lips, lingering for longer than either of them expected. 

While they knew the end could come in the dead of night, they were sure that they were safe within the other’s embrace, and that night the only presence of a nightmare was the one roaring outside Greyskull Keep’s walls.

[venus-haze]

oop, 1, 4, 10 on the weird write question list lol, but only if youre still answering.

Yeah I’m still down to answer them! Thank you so much ily🖤

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting? Usually Arial because that’s default in Google Docs

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral? Howl or howling I’m obsessed with it!

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you? Yes! I’m seriously not just saying this but The Last Testament is so fucking good like I’ve rewatched House of Wax since reading it and I’m always a little confused Rose isn’t there. @cherubgore’s fics always so good like I’m always so excited when Minxie posts!

Also @blindmagdalena’s Angel!Homelander fic You Get Me Closer To God because it’s so beautifully written! I don’t remember the name of it, but I read a Dead Poets Society fic when I was in high school that used Put Your Head on My Shoulder by Paul Anka in a scene where Neil and Todd dance together and I’ve associated that song with them ever since.

As for my own work, I think fics where I can really remember the mood and mindset I was in while I was working on them “haunt” me, like Howl, My Destruction Is an Hour Late, Brother’s Keeper.

🦇 Battie

[utilitycaster]

Do you think that Laura and Marisha are deliberately making their relationship somewhat toxic and unsustainable or do you think they see the relationship as healthy? It is just so different from all of the other relationships they have been a part of and not really in a good way. Would love to get your perspective on it if you have one

I am honestly unsure. I would like to say it's deliberate. Prior to it becoming canon, in fact, I, and a lot of other people who were less than enthused by Imogen and Laudna's romance and weren't entirely sold from the start, made the case that we expected they would be talking to each other and would put together a compelling story, not the dull fluff so common in fanon. While whether it's compelling is a subjective judgment, we know for a fact they didn't talk to each other. We know for a fact Marisha was surprised by the question of "Can I kiss you," and Laura was surprised by the answer. We know from a 4SD not long after (4SD #16, Kiss and Tell) that several episodes later they still hadn't talked. We know that Marisha perceives Laudna as holding Imogen back (and that Laudna perceives herself as doing so) from the Rose City Q&A. We know that from 4SD #20 (Episode Twenty) that Laura doesn't like conflict in narrative and Marisha does, and that Laura was thrown by Laudna's regression following Ashton's attempt to absorb the shard (4SD #19, Shard Candy).

I don't know if it's deliberate or not; I don't have any extra insight that isn't public knowledge any fan can easily access. But man, it doesn't feel like these are two actors on the same page about what's going on.

I've touched on this before but mostly in tags or whisper posts but I've always felt ill at ease with a number of for lack of a better term "fandom-approved opinions" and one of the ones that has baffled me the most is this idea that Marisha and Laura have exceptional chemistry. I watched Campaign 1 knowing the endgame ships but deliberately avoiding the fandom, and Vex and Keyleth did not even once occur to me as a thing. I watched the first year of Campaign 2 without a ton of fandom interaction because I was avoiding additional C1 spoilers and it seemed crystal clear that the obvious ship was Beau and Yasha; it felt like Beau and Jester only even had enough potential for me to multiship it as my general "whomever Jester picks" for like, 30 episodes. And yet people - people who didn't even ship either of the above ships and in some cases disliked them- would just say "oh man I can't wait until we get to a campaign where we can finally explore Marisha and Laura's incredible chemistry!" and it's like. I feel like I'm the kid in the Emperor's New Clothes on this! I understand that chemistry is to an extent a matter of taste and subjectivity, but it just increasingly feels like people looked at two campaigns of tables where Ashley was frequently absent and said "well, if I want an F/F ship that's between two of the women in the cast, I guess this is what I have to work with" and repeated to themselves that a flat pamplemousse La Croix was a Piña Colada until they started to believe it. I mean if someone wants to explain it to me in good faith I suppose be my guest and I will try to take it in, but it feels like people just treat this as incontrovertible fact and if you doubt it they're like "don't you have eyes" and it's like, well, pretend I don't. Explain like I'm eyeless and five because I have never understood this. They both have more chemistry with every single other cast member; it's not all romantic but man, I didn't even buy Laudna and Imogen as platonic best friends of two years. I have never had this problem with any other pre-existing character relationships Marisha and Laura have played, platonic or otherwise. It's literally just them. I just never feel like they're quite on the same page.

Back to the relationship between Imogen and Laudna onscreen, this was easily the best conversation since the start of the gnarlrock fight, and it is my hope it doesn't fizzle out the way that did. You can't keep kissing Laudna whenever she fears she's lost forever to Delilah, Imogen. Or you can, but that won't fix the problem. Again: are you disgusted? Do you feel betrayed? If you're not, why did you say that? If you are, how will you move past it? Do you want to be with someone who never feels like they're good enough for you? Laudna, do you want to be with someone who, no matter what they say, you feel you're holding back?

Early in the campaign, my feeling was that of our current situation, switched - Imogen felt her powers were a burden and a curse and Laudna kept referring to them and to her glowingly. It's just...ships passing in the night, no pun intended here. I hope it's on purpose and whatever comes from it is a good story - and either a tragedy or a happy story could be a good one. But I have a nagging sensation that Laudna wants out but is afraid to say no, and Imogen is afraid to let go, and I honestly don't know if the actors have realized this impasse and how the characters might resolve it, one way or another, besides the insufficient bandaid of a kiss whenever the conversation gets too uncomfortable.

[harleyquinnzelz]

hii!! if it’s okay can you share where you found the fonts for your Minxie poster?? I love her btw!! If you don’t mind me asking, where did she learn to do magic?? hope you have a lovely day lovely <33

Hey! I would, of course, be more than happy to share where I downloaded the font used for the poster... if I remembered where I had gotten it.

The font was one I had already downloaded and installed onto my computer but idk if it's one from a resource pack or one I found and downloaded from dafont.com myself. Before I went hunting for a font that matched the one used for the real character posters, I thought it would be a good idea to check through the ones I already had, and the one I settled on matched the best. The best I can do is tell you what the font is called and hope that you can find the right one. In any case, it's called and the font I used is AgencyFB and the font settings I used for the dimensions of Minxie's poster is 325pt with the height at 10 pt, set to metrics with the spacing between letters at -10. I hope this helps, and I'm sorry I couldn't link you to where I originally found the link myself but dafont would be a good place to start looking.

Aa for your Minxie questions, she hasn't actually had anyone to teach her magic. It in her blood, from her mother who is a widely admired and feared sea witch. Unfortunately Minxie was raised by her very human father and doesn't really remember her mother. She realized that she could use magic when she was very young and everything that she can do is a result of trial and error and her teaching herself. Unfortunately, Minxie has a whole lot to learn. Her most reliable magical ability is her talent of turning herself into a cat.

Hope you have a good day too, and I hope this helped. If you have any other questions, I'm happy to answer them!

[thissugarcane]

wip answer far far too late

I have been saving this until I thought I could actually, you know, write something, but then the ask disappeared because I hoarded it too long. but! @tausendsorgen​, a billionty years ago, asked:

ok I am HYPE for the s4 fic but I'm gonna take my chances that I'll get to see that one later on, so instead I'm gonna ask for some insight into s1 drunk mawwage pilot au?

I’ve written a couple of scenes of this already, one thousand percent on tumblr in response to various hilarious prompts I saw, but mostly, this one would be so funny because it would be the exact-- like, one of my favourite ideas comes from that BDSM series by Minxie, where Brian offers commitment to Justin in a D/s sense, which makes Justin secure in them. Even if it’s not a traditional commitment, it’s enough?

So this one, I just think it would be interesting to see a good portion of season one play out with Justin having a ring on his finger and brian not removing the ring on his while still being, uh, season one Justin (bratty, somewhat immature, insecure in his place but fighting for it). What would be the same (probably the king of babylon, possibly him running to nyc? craig’s attack) and what would be different (actually, Michael; Michael would be different because he’d know, so much sooner, that he’d lost).

but also the hilarity. Jenn and Deb trying to work together to give Brian and Justin a wedding reception!! (thank you Karynn for that mental image). Though it’s possibly that sixty-five percent of my interest in this AU just comes from picturing Melanie-The-Lawyer (who knows this is not even remotely legal) fighting with Melanie-The-Shit-Disturber (who wants to see how far Brian will take this farce without admitting he actually wants the kid around).

(do I like when mel and brian get along? yes.)

[applejuiz]

I'm here to say hold me like water, hold me like a knife is severely underrated and genuinely one of my fav fics rn!!!!!!!

the most recent chapter and some other tidbits made me have a small thought, does the small animal flight response in her make it so when startled, she doesn't breath? to not make any noise, so nothing can hear her and gives her the silence to hear what's around her? in those jumpy moment and freshly awakened from nightmares does she ever forget to breath? does she need to be reminded?

On a different note because I would love to hear the thoughts of the lovely author, is there any signs of ptsd in keyleth that you haven't had a chance to sneak into the fic yet but have been wanting to? (ofc do not have to answer if this spoilery<3)

Oh man, thank you so much!!!! 💖💕💖💕💖 I’m really so proud and excited of how this fic is coming along. It was one of those big ideas I had in the back of my head for so long and never thought I’d write and now it’s going in so many fun directions I didn’t expect. I’m really really glad people are enjoying it.

In terms of the flight response, I can totally picture Keyleth going completely silent and holding her breath in a stressful situation, turning to pure threat assessment before someone else notices and pulls her back, at least some of the time she feels scared. Something that’s been really interesting for me to think about Keyleth’s wild shape. It can turn her into a predator like Minxie but also turn her into a prey animal, so I feel like, as strong as she is, there’s a part of both in her at all times. I see her fear response being on the thinnest hairpin trigger where she has to decide in an instant if she’s going to be predator or prey (and I’m really excited to explore how emotional things also trigger that survival response in her even more in upcoming chapters).

And as far as Keyleth’s ptsd, I think something that’s going to be coming up soon is how little she’s allowing anyone else to help her. One of the biggest differences about being in the Shadowfell was that she was totally alone for weeks so I think she likely forgets that the others can help her, both with her emotional struggles and anything else. I haven’t written much about fights since I have no clue how I would translate game mechanics to prose, but I imagine that Keyleth definitely wild shapes more and doesn’t use her support spells as much as she used to because she sometimes genuinely forgets the rest of the party is there. She definitely gets thrown off anytime someone sends a healing spell her way.

(Also a much smaller physical thing that hasn’t really come up but that I think about a lot: Keyleth’s hair is probably still not doing great, very dried out and brittle after being tangled for so long. It’s so low on the priority list for her it barely registers, but Vax has been slowly working on improving the situation with various soaps and oils and his careful attention when they get the chance.)

Thank you for the ask! And honestly feel free to ask me anything about this fic or anything else ever, I had to fight not to respond with a ten page dissertation on Keyleth’s psyche both in this fic and in canon

[waltwhitmansbeard]

go on, claim my heart: chapter five

see my masterpost for what came before this. inspired by @romeoandjulietyouwish's medieval au.

Vex is alternating between packing her gear for the journey ahead and barking out orders to her lieutenant, a young human man clearly trying not to seem overwhelmed as he frantically scribbles down everything she's telling him. It is difficult for her to decide what equipment might be useful for the expedition, but then, that's what happens when you charge off half-cocked toward unknown but certain danger. She pauses and takes a deep breath. She knows exactly why they're leaving as hurriedly as they are, and even though she herself would rather they take some time to plan, to strategize, to research, it is not her child who was so cruelly snatched from her bed in the middle of the night, and so she must defer to her brother.

Vax. All these years together, all the terrible things they have faced, and she has never seen him so desolate, so broken. Her brother has allowed such little joy into his life, has thought himself unworthy of it, but in these past two years with Keyleth and the few precious months he's had with their child, Vex has watched him blossom into a man of delight, of exultation, of bliss. When he holds Vilya, Vex swears he must be looking into the realm of the gods, so consumed by wonder and reverence is he. She feels a yearning tug in her own belly whenever Vax trips over his words in an attempt to wax poetic about his baby girl, and each time she and Percy leave an evening spent at the cottage fawning over her niece, she finds it difficult to meet his eye, wondering if his mind is racing in the same circles as hers.

Now, though, she feels nothing but fear regarding the idea of children of her own, for the notion that an infant could be plucked so easily from her home is nothing short of terrifying. Vex adores her little niece, and each time she thinks about what could be happening to her at this very moment, it is as if a red-hot iron poker has been skewered into her chest. So she hurries, ready to charge forth into the wide world without any real course of action, because that is what one does for family.

Her orders to her lieutenant are interrupted by rapidly approaching horse hooves. She shoves her head out of her office in the northern guard tower and sees a familiar horse galloping from the direction of the stables. She rushes down to the ground floor and spills out of the guard tower just Vax pulls Simon to a halt in front of her. "Why are you already on your horse?" she asks. "I understand the need for urgency, brother, but you must let us prepare ourselves for the journey."

"Keyleth left," he grits out. "I'm going after her."

Vex blinks, shocked. "Left? What do you mean left?"

"I mean she asked to go with us and when her father and I told her it was not a wise idea, she took off on Minxie on her own. I have no idea if she has supplies or even the faintest notion of where she's going."

Vex has to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling. It is endlessly foolish, of course, for a princess with no survival skills to abscond from the castle on her own, particularly in her current emotional state, and yet Vex cannot help but feel proud of Keyleth for not taking no for an answer. She cannot imagine a world in which her own blood is put in such acute danger and she is forced to stay behind while others go out to save the day. Vex has watched Keyleth take to motherhood like a duck to water, and she sees, beneath the delicate royal sensibilities and the general naïveté about the world, a simmering fire, a savage ferocity that Vex has witnessed in many a bear while their young are nearby. She understands her brother's concern, of course, for Keyleth's safety, but one thing she cannot understand is his surprise. Of course she stole away to go find her baby; that anyone could expect anything less of her is the true surprise.

"Go," she says, seeing the pack already on his back. "The rest of us will catch up. We'll bring extra supplies, just in case."

"She won't need supplies," Vax argues. "As soon as I find her I'm sending her right back here."

Vex sighs, then reaches up to place a hand on her brother's leg. "Vax...perhaps having her with us will not be the trouble you imagine it to be. She will stop at nothing to bring Vilya home, which to me is an asset, not a liability."

Vax looks down at her with a mixture of shock and betrayal. "You would have me risk my wife's life so easily?"

"I would have you remember that your wife is incredibly capable, as she has demonstrated on multiple occasions, and she is a person who ought to decide for herself what risks are worth incurring in the name of saving her child."

They glare at each other, each willing the other to see sense, before Vax lets out a frustrated huff. "I'm leaving. The rest of you come when you can." Then he snaps Simon's reins, and Vex watches them tear off toward the road out of Zephrah with a sigh.

.

In a lifetime marked by some truly, fantastically reckless decisions, this, far and away, must be the most reckless Keyleth has ever made. She is bent low over Minxie's mane, the hood of her plain, dark cloak pulled up to shadow her face from anyone she might encounter on the road. She managed to throw together one satchel of food in the brief time she had to collect herself, and she's grateful for all of the late-night escapades down into the kitchens for snacks that colored her childhood, giving her the precise expertise needed to get in and out unseen. She has no camping gear, no spare clothing, no weapons save one of Vax's daggers left in her chambers in the castle. For the first time in her life, she is outside the bounds of Zephrah without an escort, and she has only a vague idea about which direction to travel.

But the gods be damned if Vax thinks she's going to stay behind in their empty house while everyone else takes action to bring Vilya home. Doesn't he understand? Doesn't he remember? Keyleth had been so sure that she was not going to survive Vilya's birth, but never once did it cross her mind not to go through with it. She has been prepared since she first learned of their child's existence to give up everything for her, a clarity of purpose that she has never had in relation to her someday ascension to the throne. She is a mother, and to ask her to stay back while her baby is in danger is like asking the sun to move eastward across the sky.

She pushes Minxie as hard as she dares, knowing that her favorite horse is accustomed to casual rides through the countryside as opposed to hard road travel. It is about four days' ride to Syngorn, as Keyleth well knows, and another week past that to Whitestone. Keyleth's plan, such as it is, is to stop in Syngorn and request supplies from the High Warden. She has to imagine that after all of the commotion and tension of her last trip to the city-state, her presence will not be celebrated, exactly, but she cannot believe that they will turn a friendly royal away in a time of such great crisis. If they do, however, Keyleth hopes she has learned enough from Vax to steal what she needs to press on toward Whitestone.

A bit past midday, she stops in a heavily forested stretch of the road, taking Minxie a ways into the trees and tying her up behind a large oak to keep her from being too visible. Keyleth grabs just an apple from her sack, trying to conserve as much food as possible, and lets her horse munch on the low flora as she eats it. She's anxious to get back on the road again, knowing each minute stretches the distance between herself and Vilya. When she's down to the core of the apple, she remembers something she did once at the base of the cherry tree next to the cottage, back when her pregnancy nausea was such that she could hardly gain enough sustenance to support both herself and the baby. She chews on her lip, wondering if the delay is worth the risk, but more information is always better than less, so she sits on the crunchy, cold forest floor with her back to the oak, places her palms down to the soil, and closes her eyes.

It feels like the wind, whatever this strange nature magic is. It ripples up and down her arms as though something tiny were blowing on the fine hairs there, and she must resist the urge to shudder. She focuses on this wind, sending it out, further and further from her body, until it is whipping through the nearly bare tree branches and swirling out around the leaves, both falling and fallen. She senses every skittering thing, every prowler in the underbrush, and focuses on finding something small, something soft, something with a heartbeat as familiar to her as her own name.

The winds shift, pulling her attention to the northeast—toward Whitestone. She cannot be certain—not with this magic that she understands so little—but she somehow still trusts this base instinct in her body: her child is somewhere to the northeast, and for the moment, still alive. Keyleth's eyes flutter open with her first smile since this horrible day began. She's on the right path.

She scrambles back onto Minxie and drives forward, eager to close as much distance before nightfall as possible. Her legs start to cramp up fairly soon; she has never ridden at such an intense pace for so long. She is fatiguing much more quickly than she had hoped, and by the time the sun is dipping beneath the horizon, she's hanging on for dear life. She pulls Minxie off the road near some rocky outcroppings, which are tall enough to hide the horse, and then she has a decision to make. It is well into autumn now, and with the sun nearly gone from the sky, the air is chilling rapidly. She desperately wants to start a fire, but the last thing she needs is to draw attention to herself. She feeds some oats to Minxie and then a bread roll to herself, hungrier than she can ever remember being, hemming and hawing as the sun dips lower and lower until it is finally set and Keyleth is bathed in darkness.

Tired as she is, she has enough rage simmering beneath the surface to summon to her hand a small flicker of flame, and she uses this light to extract the single blanket she'd managed to stow away in her hasty escape from Zephrah. She rolls it out on the softest patch of soil she can find and uses her riding cloak as a second blanket on top. When she is all settled for what she knows will be the most unrestful sleep of her life, she closes her eyes, only to snap them open again when she hears a sound that makes her heart leap in fear: rapidly approaching horse hooves. All too familiar with the bandits that patrol this stretch of road, she quickly clenches her fist to snuff out the flame in it and lies there, heart racing as the threatening hooves get closer and closer in the dark.

[criticaldaemons]

So a thought crossed my mind regarding the au. What do the daemons of druids do while in combat? Like Turion. Does he follow Keyleth into the fray? Does he try to stay out of it? Could he be hurt by her if she's in a fire elemental form? I'm curious.

Sorry it took a while to reply to this one, it's another one of those super interesting questions that I needed to put a load of thought into before answering.

For the most part, druid daemons are no different than anyone else's, so yes, Turion tends to follow Keyleth into the fray, to an extent, out of all the Vox Machina daemons, he's the one that enjoys fighting the least. So he tries more to stay out of it for those reasons. As for the elemental forms, a daemon is a part of you, the physicality of your own form doesn't matter so much. So if a druid became a fire elemental, their daemon would take on certain traits, like a resistance to fire. So your own daemon wouldn't be injured by it, but you could still hurt someone else's.

The most interesting thing for a druid's daemon is its ability to wildshape as you do; if Keyleth becomes Minxie, Turion also becomes a sabre-tooth in order to be able to keep up with her. It's the one way that he can still change forms. It also comes in handy when she wildshapes into a giant eagle, as he can become one and carry the other members of Vox Machina's daemons without the risk of Keyleth touching them.

This is different from polymorph, where a person's daemon disappears entirely, because you're no longer yourself and don't have the same soul.