#my favorite Vox Machina character abandoning her god

[starlight-dnd]

It is a great day to be a Pike Trickfoot fan

[gilmores-glorious-blog]

more of my vox machina bullshit, reaction to the last three episodes edition:

- percy and scanlan’s friendship is my favorite thing (the two of them + vax are my comfort trio of dumbasses),, i loved scanlan pulling percy aside to be like “i love you but you’re fucked up” because.. so true of him <3 also when scanlan tried to flirt with cassandra and percy just immediately went “NO.”,,, idk i just have a besties agenda

- grog is actually an icon and my hero and i love him. king of skinny dipping in acid <3 (his friendship with pike is!! actually the cutest fucking thing ever!!!!!!! they mean everything to me!!!!) but why is his dick named captain winky

- i let out a genuine screech of horror when cassandra’s name appeared on the gun,, like i figured that she was working for the briarwoods but it still HURT (and percy’s reaction was so sad <3 when he just crumpled to the ground and started sobbing i,, 🥺😭😭)

- these last two episodes were rough…… my loves were really going through it,,, what with keyleth fucking dying and scanlan losing his voice which for him is probably literal hell and vex having to fight her brother and percy. y’know. HAVING A FUCKING DEMON INSIDE OF HIM.

- okay but vex being so upset about keyleth when she got wounded/was dying is something that can be so personal……….. like,, she’s always been a bit cold to keyleth because of abandonment issues or whatever but she was so anguished when she thought keyleth was going to die!!! 🥺🥺🥺😭 sapphic behavior

- scanlan using the same spell to silence delilah that she used on him and imitating her little “shhh” is,,,,,,,,,, very hot ngl,,,

- why do i feel kinda bad for the briarwoods though :/ this is why villains shouldn’t be sexy,, it makes me sympathize with them 😩😩

- vax calling scanlan by his last name is so important to me actually <3

- actually vax’s nicknames for everyone are just,, 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 so precious 🥺🥺🥺 as well as scanlan calling keyleth “green” :,)

- god there was so much twin angst :,(… possessed!vax fighting vex who just wanted her brother back,, vax being worried about vex when she was fighting orthax!percy,,, they are everything to me…….

- okay…………. it’s time we talk about mr. percy de rolo…. because HOLY FUCKING SHIT. first of all, demon!percy had no goddamn right to be as hot as he was. like,, jesus fucking christ 👀…. but also my GOD the trauma on that boy!! he was already so fucked up he didn’t need to have the freaking demon inside of him make him hurt/try to murder his new family while making him internally relieve his trauma by showing him his old family getting murdered again— and the whole battle was just so intense,, when he pointed the gun at himself i simply wanted to sob,,,, and the fact that the only way he finally got orthax out of him was by shooting his own hand out??!!!!? someone get this bitch some fucking therapy, p l e a s e. or just let me tenderly hold him.

- AHSKRJTHDAKTKTHDHAJTK EXPLICITLY CANON QUEER SCANLAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i’m legit. So Happy about this. like i knew that he and most of the other characters were at least implied queer in the campaign, but i thought the only thing they’d have in the show was vax being bi and i was just,, so excited that they decided to make it undeniably clear that scanlan is into guys !!

- speaking of the queer guys in this show… we knew that vax and gilmore had a thing, but like,, that last scene with the two of them,,,,, oh they FUCKED fucked. (good for them 😌)

- percy’s so nice and sweet and cute and carefree without orthax :,) he was smiling 🥺 and he was being genuinely kind to scanlan too which made me very happy because,, more people should do that actually

- @ these fucking dragon bitches: this is why we can’t have nice things.

sooooo yeah,, i’m in deep, and i would like season two to be here immediately please !!

[rightpastnowhere]

part two of @essayofthoughts’s headcanon requests because i am insane and have too many thoughts

pike trickfoot

sexuality headcanon: definitely not straight. she was a sailor. so, probably bi or pan? idk, she didn’t have a lot of in-campaign time to show her preferences and whatnot. clinging to that “what do you think i do while you guys are gone?” line about brothels because that’s fucking hilarious and i love her

favorite ship(s): i really like pikelan!! completely honestly!!! i think it’s cute and funny and they’re… such fucking idiots. omg. i also think it’s hilarious that ashley and sam turned them into a modern-day celebrity couple with that post-canon divorce. legendary. also oddly a fan of pike/percy/vex, because unrequited pining makes me sad but i can’t abandon perc’ahlia, SO. they all hold hands. plus i think pike and vex are cute together, and those three are my faves, so

brotp: pike and grog’s relationship makes me so emotional…. they’re found siblings and they look out for each other…… they’re monstahs…….. i love them. grog is always making sure pike’s okay, and sticking up for her, and pike is grog’s biggest protector. she defends him and gets riled up when people call him stupid - always thinking about her in the search for grog, where she says grog’s mind is beautiful. i lost my mind. i love them so much

notp: pike and grog, because!! they’re siblings!! best buddies!!!! not a drop of romantic attraction between them

happy headcanon: pike sings so many sea shanties, even the baudy ones - especially the baudy ones - and it’s not just because it makes everyone else smile and laugh. that’s a bonus, obviously, but mostly she sings them because they make her happy. these are her thing, they remind her of her times as a sailor, where she felt free. the time where she discovering herself, and it felt like every branch of possibility was open before her. they let her cut loose, her anxieties slipping from her shoulders like the rolling waves. i think she also genuinely likes singing in celestial, not only because it helps her feel connected to sarenrae, but because it’s just.... pretty. it’s a pretty language in a world that isn’t always so pretty

angsty headcanon: she feels a lot of guilt over vax’s death. maybe if she’d been in the tomb with them, she could have brought vex back without the group hesitating to trust kash’s unknown god. she doesn’t know what she would have done, but knows she could have done something. she feels like that over most of the deaths in the VM - she wonders just how much sufferering they all endured in the moments where she couldn’t be standing right next to them

random headcanon: i think for a bit post-canon, after she and scanlan have split and VM doesn’t go adventuring anymore (percy and grog have gotten too old, and keyleth given more responsibilities), she travels as a wandering cleric for a while. she has a lingering wanderlust from her time as a sailor years ago, and regrets that she couldn’t go on as adventures with vox machina in the height of it all. she simply wanders, jumping from group to group, seeing the parts of tal’dorei she never got to. it’s bittersweet for her, because it’s never going to be the same no matter who she travels with, and she’s never going to get that time back - but she’s grateful for the people she meets, and grateful for the chance to indulge in this other aspect of herself

general opinion: UNDERRATED FAVE!! i didn’t realize just how much i love her until i was asked to list my fave VM characters in order, and she was easily right below vex and percy, if not on par with percy. she’s just so much fun, and she’s such a complex character!! she often gets mischaracterized as just the angelic mom friend of the group, and while she’s certainly sweet and certainly the mom, she’s also loud and cheeky and buff as hell!! she jokes around!!! she threatens literal gods if they even risk hurting her friends!! she’s such a badass and amazing character, one full of contradictions that i want to study so badly. i love her so much. pike trickfoot you will always be famous

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Friendship, Fuckery, and Fey

Words: 3684

Look, I used the title! I come up with the perfect title and then I can’t write a proper introduction to save my life. Go figure.

Anyway, I wanted to look into the conversation between Artagan and Jester a little deeper and writing is how I figure out what I’m thinking, so you all get this thing, whatever it is.

Disclaimer/Reminder: Dudes, I don’t hate Artagan. I think he’s complex, interesting, layered character and watching Matt play him is a genuine delight. And he’s an Archfey on top of that, which makes him even more complex. I am inherently suspicious of everything, so there’s a good chance that we’re not going to agree on what any of this means. I’ve also never been quiet about my distrust of The Traveler, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that’s been following me for a while. I look forward to potentially being proven wrong by the narrative. 

To quote Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski De Rolo III: This is the problem with fey. They don’t tend to lie. They tend to tell just most of the truth.

I debated how to set this up and decided that I’m going to dissect small chunks of the conversation and go from there. I’m just going to get into it, because I’m assuming that’s what you’re here for.

Artagan: Hello, Jester Jester: Hi. Artagan: What’s wrong? You look so.... Jester: This guy. Here. He’s real... he’s a... he’s a dick, man. Like, not in a good way. Like.... Artagan: There’s a lot of them out there. You’re not wrong. Jester: But this guy, like, this whole island is weird. It’s like opening - look at this waterfall! Have you ever seen anything like that? This doesn’t count as a question. Like, come on. Artagan: That is quite impressive. I mean, from a mortal standpoint. There are some places in the Fey that are just mindboggling.  That is - Jester: We need to go there. Artagan: One of these days.  Jester: (over each other) Can you take everyone there? Artagan: (over each other) You are welcome to. Jester: Can we sleep in the Feywild? Artagan: I would prefer not to go back. But you’re welcome to go any time you’d like. I’ll just keep my time here as well.

I don’t have a lot to say about this really. It all seems pretty normal. But I do like that Matt has loosened the interaction rules for Commune to open it up for conversations like this between Jester and Artagan. She asked three yes-or-no questions in this tiny section alone, but he stayed around for a longer chat. I... just dig the whole thing.

However, it also makes total sense to me that Artagan wouldn’t have told Jester much, if anything, about his time in the Feywild. Since he has no interest in ever going back. But it makes me want to know what would happen to him if he goes back? I’m sure this has something to do with the fact that he needed Vox Machina to build him a doorway to the Material Plane for some reason that remains unnamed. Matt give me your notes!

Artagan: But I’m sorry, you brought me here for a purpose. Did you have any questions? Jester: People lose their memory here. They could be here for two or three days and then they get stuck here forever. Did you know that could happen? Artagan: I... I was aware. Jester: Like, I understand if, you know, you want to get rid of some of your followers, we talked about it, it’s okay, you know. Like... a few of them could stay, but I don’t want to stay.

So... here’s the deal. I’m going to get into the Artagan morality now as opposed to later, because I feel like it. I’ll get into Jester morality later.

Fey are, in a sense, amoral. Hmm... maybe that’s not what I mean. Their sense of morality does not tend to line up with the morality of someone from the Material Plane. The rules in the Feywild are different. Honestly, I don’t even know how to approach this without trying to apply a human moral code to it. I guess... my feelings on this? I love a gray morality. I love the confusion and angst that comes with it. But like... defending an archfey by saying that they don’t have the same morals as us seems kind of weird to me. That’s exactly the point? They don’t have the same morals as us? So everything that he says should be taken with a grain of salt. 

Artagan does care about Jester. I believe that. But... he also didn’t warn her about what was on Rumblecusp. He knew there was a Morkoth there. He knew that people were losing their memories here. And I guess this is where we have to decide why him not telling her doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. It’s more that he didn’t think it was a big deal not to tell her. His favorite. He sent her in blind. Whatever you feel about an archfey’s morality, by our own standards, that’s super fucked up. That’s like you being deathly allergic to bees and me sending you to pick something up for me at a farm that also happens to be a bee rescue place and not telling you about that part. (Okay please don’t judge me for that comparison it was the only thing I could think of and I’m aware how silly it sounds.) Do I know that something could happen to you? Yep. Do I want something to happen to you? Nope. Do I send you anyway? Yep. Do I care that I sent you into danger? Nope. Do I care that it makes you think I don’t care about you? Yep.

See. Complicated.

Anyway, one other thing I want to talk about before continuing is Jester’s relationship with faith right now. She’s been struggling since the reveal that he’s not a god. She’s been struggling since she realized that she needs to put on her mask around him, too. He threw her entire world out of place with that reveal. And I can’t help but focus on what that means for Jester and how it has affected her. This change in their dynamic has been a problem for her. It is hurting her. And she is still frantically trying to cling to her faith in their relationship. It doesn’t bother her that he wants to get rid of some of his other followers, as long as she isn’t someone he wants to get rid of. She used to believe that he wouldn’t do that to her and here? She’s starting to doubt, saying it out loud, because she wants him to tell her that it’s not true. It’s yet another crack in the foundation of their relationship. 

And... he does tell her that it isn’t true.

Artagan: You’re not going to stay. Jester, Jester, Jester, Jester. (takes her hands) Please don’t ever think that I’m not looking out for your best interest. And I wasn’t planning to leave them all here. It was more of a backup plan if things didn’t work out well with the Travelercon thing. You have to have a series of layers for something like this. (Jester sniffles) Oh, dear thing. (Puts his thumb on her cheek) I... I don’t mean to put you through this. I was never going to abandon you or leave you to this. If things went sideways when we arrived, I would’ve just plucked you and everyone else of import -  Jester: Everyone else, too? Artagan: Everyone else of import. Jester: My friends? Artagan: Oh, your friends? Yes. Of course. But... let’s be honest. There are a few individuals on their way here that are more of a pain in my ass. Let me tell you, trying to charter this many ships from the middle of the Menagerie Coast? Jester: It’s a lot. Artagan: A lot of paperwork. Jester: Yeah. Artagan: I’ve been busy. I hate it. I hate all of this. I’m excited to be done. But no, I wasn’t going to abandon you and your friends.

Oof, okay. My first reaction here was super visceral. This is where most of my distrust started in the conversation, to be honest. He doesn’t give a shit about the rest of the Mighty Nein. That’s not news. He likes that they’re helping keep an eye out for Jester, yeah. But if they hadn’t had this conversation, I’d put money on him only grabbing Jester and leaving the rest of the group. I mean, remember. He didn’t think it was a big deal not to tell her about the memory loss. I’m sure that, in the heat of the moment, he wouldn’t think it was a big deal to leave her friends behind. Jester had to push him twice and even then, it felt like an afterthought. They’re something tangential to Jester. They don’t matter to him.

We also don’t know what the Traveler thinks is in Jester’s best interest. Hell, we don’t really know what Jester thinks is in her best interest. Her reactions to this conversation are where we should be taking our cues from, to be honest. Whether or not she’s comfortable with any of this.

Also, this makes me really, really curious about his other followers. Jester was his first and will always be his favorite, but what if there are a few more that he genuinely likes the way he likes Jester? There have to be a couple. It’s the way he said ‘everyone of import’ that made me start thinking about it. There’s an implication that Jester isn’t the only one on the island that is, however he defines the word, important to Artagan. 

Jester: So, do you think we should get rid of this weird Vo-greedy guy? Artagan: Perhaps. If you don’t think there’s much of a purpose or a way to make him useful.... Then.... I mean, what other choice is there? Jester: Do you want to fight him? Artagan: Me? I don’t fight. I... hedge my bets on those who fight for me. Jester: Yeah.... Okay. You promise? You promise? Artagan: I am of a kind of entity that promises are binding. Makes them dangerous. Makes them easy to regret. But binding. And. I. Promise. Jester: Okay.

OKAY. This is where we’re going to get into real arguments, I bet.

Look, I get it. He said the words “I promise”. BUT WHAT DID HE PROMISE?

There are a lot of possibilities here. This is so open-ended. Matt has so many ways he can play this. He could be promising that he never intended to abandon her here. He could be promising that she’s not going to stay on this island. He could be promising that he wasn’t going to abandon her and her friends. He could be promising that he hedges his bets on those who fight for him. Jester didn’t specify. A Fey cannot knowingly tell a lie. Yes. But they are masters at manipulating the truth. If we can’t judge him using our morality, we have to be willing to acknowledge that this probably extends to the way he interacts with people he cares about. Including Jester. Because it’s not the same thing to him. It just isn’t.

So, what does this mean? If he can’t tell a direct lie?

I was aware

He knew something on the island was sucking memories and decided to use it to his advantage if Travelercon didn’t pan out. But how did he expect Travelercon to pan out? What is the purpose? What is the end goal?

Please don’t ever think I’m not looking out for your best interest.

What does he think is Jester’s best interest? Would Jester agree? Is it in her best interest to travel the world creating chaos with him alone? Is it in her best interest to forget him? 

I wasn’t planning to leave them all here. It was more of a backup plan if things didn’t work out well with the Travelercon thing.

He wasn’t planning to leave them all here. Again. What is the Travelercon thing? What is the end goal? He still hasn’t said. We know he wants to abdicate responsibility, right? So, what’s the plan to do that after gathering his followers? 

I don’t mean to put you through this.

Yeah. He cares about her. He hasn’t intended for his actions to hurt her and they have. He’s aware of this and how she’s upset by the shift in their relationship.

I was never going to abandon you or leave you to this.

He was never going to abandon her or leave her to this. But... he didn’t say that he didn’t intend to leave her there at all. He could leave her there for 50 years and then go back and that wouldn’t be considered abandoning her. Or he could have intended to sweep only Jester out of there.

I wasn’t going to abandon you and your friends.

After a little pushing, he agreed that he didn’t intend to leave her friends behind either. So, for now, the Nein at least have a backup escape plan, although we don’t know exactly what that means. And if they die fighting Vokodo, he doesn’t have to worry about extricating them as well.

I hedge my bets on those who fight for me.

I mean, that’s pretty easy to take at face value. He’s not really one for direct confrontation.

Look. Maybe i’m being paranoid. But Fey always make me nervous. In a fun way? If that makes sense. It’s like a logic game. How many different ways can this sentence be interpreted? What have I possibly gotten myself into? Like... *CR1 SPOILERS* remember how Vox Machina got out of the whole threshold crest thing by stone-shaping a Whitestone crest in the threshold of one of their doors? And Garmelie/Artagan had to accept it, because it fit the letter of the promise, if not the spirit? I feel like you need to always look for the loopholes with Fey beings.

And again. Yes. Artagan said the words “I promise”. But the loophole is literally right there. He promised nothing explicitly. 

Artagan: And I’m sorry if you felt abandoned. I... there’s no excuse I can put other than the fact that things are a little crazy right now and I (laughs). Oh, mortals are a special breed. Jester: Hey, man, maybe a dragon turtle will take out a couple of the boats on the way here. Artagan: Well, I don’t - I don’t want them dead necessarily. Jester: No, I mean, that would be - that would be terrible. That’d be terrible.

Oh, yay! Jester morality time! I’m not going to go too in depth, but I’ll make a couple notes.

I love this. It’s so amazing, because you can see the way Jester’s opinion on morality was shaped by her time growing up with Artagan. It’s been clear through the entire campaign. The time Fjord said they agreed not to put anyone in harm’s way in an excessive manner and her response? “When did we agree that?” The way that Caleb assumes she’s sweet and innocent and would be upset to find out he murdered his parents? (That’s something Liam said on Talks, btw, I’m not making that up.) And Laura, on the other hand, is like, dude. Jester wouldn’t care.

Jester’s morality is very much shaped on how the actions of others affect her and her friends. This person is her friend, so what they do is ‘good’. Or, even if it’s not good, she’s going to back them up. The conversation with Fjord in the Uk’otoa temple? “Just don’t be evil to me, okay?” I mean, if Fjord had decided to free Uk’otoa? She would have helped, because he’s her friend. She cared about the way it affected and hurt Fjord more than anything. She doesn’t care that Beau or Nott or Caleb were in jail for anything. She doesn’t have the same reservations about lying to people that others do. (Hmm... someone else want to write something up on the way the different members of the Nein view lying??) She doesn’t have the same reservations about killing people. It’s just... yeah. She’s chaotic neutral. Okay, I have more thoughts on this, but I’m going to save them for the conclusion.

Artagan: The plan was, if things went wrong, at the very least they’d be left here to live a nice life in a village with some people, you know? They weren’t going to be hurt. They just would’ve forgotten some thing. Jester: Yeah, that’s true. I mean, they’re living a nice life and nobody seems to hate it with their memories gone. Artagan: Right?! Jester: But I don’t want to do it! Artagan: And you won’t be! It was never even part of this. I should have clarified it. You’re right. I should’ve been a little more forthright with some of this information. Jester: I’m here extra days! You know? Like, extra time. That’s extra risk! (deep sigh) I’m sorry. I don’t mean to yell at you. Artagan: It’s all right. I would’ve come back. Jester: Okay. Artagan: Hey. you wanna see something very pretty? (makes the Tusktooth logo appear on one of the moons) Jester: That’s pretty cool.

This is kind of more in the morality vein as well, but it feels separate from her individual morality. Jester once again asserts the fact that she doesn’t want to live here. She doesn’t want to forget things. And Artagan apologizes and says he should have been more forthright with the information. All while continuing to not be forthright of what his actual plan is. 

He also makes sure to mention that he would have come back. Again. Fey can’t tell a direct lie. Maybe he means he would have rescued her right away. But I still stand by something I said last weekend. Artagan doesn’t want this responsibility anymore. If he has to lose Jester in order to get out of it and go back to a life of fun, he would. It’s an acceptable sacrifice to him. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t genuinely care about her. He just cares about himself more. He cares about how this is affecting Jester, but he cares about how it’s affecting him more. 

I don’t know you guys. Like I’ve said over and over. He’s fun. But I still think there’s reason to worry.

Final Thoughts

If anyone thinks I’m ever ignoring Jester’s morality, because I think she’s the sweetest, I can promise you that’s not what I’m doing. I think her morality is sketchy af but really funny, the same way I view Artagan’s tbh, but the difference is in how she cares about the rest of the Nein. Which is also what she cares about, by the way. She loves them and cares for them so much. She does so many sweet things to show that. She paints a mural of wildflowers for Yasha. She pretends she’s going to offer up her hands to a hag and tricks said hag with a cupcake for Veth. She buys Caduceus the cookbook about mushrooms, because she knew he loved fungus and cooking. She uses her special paint to create a parasol for Essek so that he can have a small shield from the sunlight. 

But she also takes every opportunity to fuck with everyone she comes across. Her little pranks are hilarious, but if you put yourself in the shoes of that priest of Bahamut? Probably not so great. And do I care? No. What I care about is that Jester has fun. That goes for this Traveler thing, too. And right now it’s hurting her. A great deal. She cried for a long time after that conversation was over. If Jester ultimately says “fuck it” and runs off with The Traveler, I’d be super sad, but more power to her. I just want... I want her to be happy. I don’t want her to get hurt. 

I guess I think there are two options here. There are more. But these are the two I think about a lot.

One: Artagan doesn’t want to intentionally hurt her. He doesn’t seem to want to intentionally hurt anyone. But when he says he doesn’t want any of the dead. He adds necessarily. If he managed to get out of having all these followers because some of them died. Eh. An unfortunate side effect. He didn’t want it to happen. But maybe he’s willing to give every single one of them up, including Jester, if he can go back to his carefree life.

Two: Artagan loves Jester enough that losing her would hurt him. This encompasses a lot of things. What could he lose her to? Death? Her losing her faith? The Mighty Nein? A romantic relationship? Another friendship that has somehow become more important? Honestly, there are lots of threats to their relationship. And this kind of ties into the way that I think the Nein are an afterthought for him. He doesn’t currently view them as a threat, but he’s also been very busy lately. He values them as protectors for Jester, but she doesn’t necessarily need protection. She’s strong on her own. So... let’s say Jester decides that she doesn’t believe in the Traveler anymore? What would a scorned archfey do? What have we seen, historically, in this game? Legit, I am all about Saundor 2.0. I’m not sure I think it’s the most likely, but I would love to see this play out in their narrative. Because I’m a sucker for angst. Have I not mentioned that enough? 

Anyway. I guess that’s it. The message? Don’t blindly trust Archfey? No. That’s not the message. The message is that this is complicated and painful and making for a super fun story, but it really sucks to see Jester cry.

[madamelokiofasgard]

With 15 days to go before the next Campaign begins, I have been rewatching and relistening to the last.  I am going to miss Vox Machina so much, and I each time each character does something so tied to who they are, i'm reminded of just how much i'm going to miss.

I'm going to miss Trinket.   Just in general.  No Matt being Trinket, no bear noises, no 'oh buddy', no Laura getting all sappy over her bear.   Because Trinket bear was best bear and i'm gonna miss him.  Will we have another mascot for the new group?  Who knows.  It is nice, at least, that Trinket will likely always be there on the Talks Machina set, and sometimes there just in the background of another Geek and Sundry set because he's become so a part of, and well loved, by so many there.

I'm going to miss Vex.  Her bond with Trinket.  Her bond with Vax so full of emotion. Her love with Percy and their growth both individually and together as they worked toward forgiveness.  Her friendship with the girls, fun and free; having been jealous of Keyleth before for being close to Percy and thinking she was taking away her brother, only to look after her and bond with her as a sister.  Her admiration toward Scanlan, always looking out for him and seeking his advice.  Her careful looking out for Grog, hoping he wouldn't cause problems but never making him feel stupid.  Her hate and then becoming best friends with Taryon.  Her haggling.  Her flying high on her broom. Her heart and conviction.  Her daring.  Her voice.   Her going from that lost girl hoarding money to feel secure and having no home to a woman comfortable and happy and making her home on her own.   I came to Critical Role because of Laura as I first watched Titan's Grave and I followed her to this.  So I loved her first, and Vex was and still is, my favorite.  So I will miss her terribly.

I'm going to miss Vax.  From that daring idiot going into danger alone, to the grieving, lost, and depressed person who didn't know where to belong and feared the fate that had touched him, to the man content in his place and to leave.  I am going to miss Jenga.   I'm going to miss him soaring, winged in battle, dealing incredible amounts of damage. I'm going to miss his terrible love for his sister, his love for Keyleth, and his love for Gilmore.   The moment he beaned Tary and then took him in.  I'm going to miss his admiration for the Gnomes. For his admiration of Scanlan's strength and their friendship, for his admiration of Pike in general and for whom he wanted to follow in the footsteps of.  I'm going to miss his early pranks with Grog that became a partnership, and stood by his side when he was gnomeless. For his brotherhood with Percy, starting as a fun friendship that broke and had to mend because of what happen to his sister.   I'm going to miss the selfless idiot, the self sacrifices he made, and the great love he had for his friends.

I'm going to miss Keyleth.  Her awkwardness, her deep convictions, her strength, and her growth into leadership.  How she feared hurting people but was never afraid to try things.  How she was afraid of spotlight and becoming a hero.  How she struggled with anger and self doubt and revenge.  I'm going to miss her love of Vax and her friendship with Percy.   I'm going to miss her admiration of Vex's coolness and Pike in general.   I'm going to miss her smaller but powerful moments with Grog who promised to fight with her and the moment she asked him how he dealt with his rage.   Even the smaller moments with Scanlan which were so rare.  I'm even going to miss her antlers.

I'm going to miss Percy.  His terribly long name, his anger, his darkness, his sass, and his witty one-liners.  Life needs things to live.   I'm going to miss his devil's luck with natural twenties and his golden snitch. (Taliesin should not have allowed Matt to inherit that dice).  I'm going to miss his excited laughter and his ideas and inventions.  I'm going to miss his many gift arrows to Vex and his overall love for her and how he did everything he could to make sure she was happy and listened to her especially when he couldn't trust himself.  I'm going to miss his broken and healing bond with Vax.  I'm going to miss his odd friendship with Keyleth.  His science-bro-ness with Taryon and his friendship and then rivalry with Scanlan who he felt had abandoned him.  His teasing but fondness of Grog who he saw as a brother.  His admiration for Pike's goodness.  And his odd relationship with his sister.  Most importantly, though, I am happy that he finally realized peace, how much he missed his family, and was content to have a family, create and make art, and never make another weapon again.

I'm going to miss Taryon though we knew him a short while.  He was fun and inexperienced but sweet.  I'm going to miss Doty.  I'm going to miss his bond of friendship and love of Vex and Percy.   I'm going to miss the trouble he got into with Grog that made them Wanted in Vasselheim.  I'm going to miss his admiration toward Keyleth who he saw as a leader.  I'm going to miss his small moments with Pike and her teaching him everyone's names and how he was determined to follow through.   I'm going to miss the smaller moments with Vax, who had beaned him on the back of the head and then promptly adopted him. I'm going to regret not seeing more of him, tho I am happy he found Larry and changed the course of his family, finally finding confidence in himself to do so.

I'm going to miss Scanlan.  It took me a while to warm up to him, problematic as he was, but slowly is saw the heart of him.  Won over by the devotion to his friends and his amazing songs.  I may miss his songs the most. I'm going to miss his love turned full admiration of Pike who he did not expect to love him back but he was hopeful, then backed off and learned to know her as a person finally, not expecting much but asked her out only to have her do the same.  I'm going to miss his bond with his daughter and his many bad decisions.  I'm going to miss his team ups with Vex and his friendship with Grog, his partner in crime.  I'm going to miss his awkward friendship with Keyleth and his closer bond with Vax and how he tried to save him and how it broke his heart when he couldn't.  I'm going to miss his rivalry with Percy, even if darker towards the end, though Percy did say he wanted to apologize in the end.   I'm even going to miss his hatred of Trinket.  Maybe not entirely hatred, more that he found Trinket more in the way than anything.   I'm going to miss Burt Reynolds, attorney at small, and the meatman.  I'm going to never forget the day he became a Triceratops and took on an entire house of enemies all by himself.  But yes, mostly, Scanlan songs...i can't imagine being without them permanently.

I'm going to miss Pike.  Ever a healer and kind, but so small and terribly powerful and strong, second only to Grog.  How she went against the conventional for clerics.  I'm going to miss the Monstah.  I'm going to miss her admonishing of Scanlan then slowly finding she loved him.  I'm going to miss her sweet bond with Vax she lovingly called String-bean.  I'm going to miss her bond with Grog, her best friend and brother, her buddy.  I'm going to miss her closeness to Vex and Keyleth who were like her sisters.  I'm going to miss how she admonished and taught Taryon everyone's names.    I'm going to miss even her unrequited interest in Percy that remained a good friendship.  I'm going to miss her threatening literal gods for the sake of her friends and family. I'm going to miss her strength and light.  I'm going to miss angel Pike, astral projecting to be with her friends.  I'm going to miss her bond with Sarenrae.  The smallest and most powerful gnome, she was.

I'm going to miss Grog. I'm going to miss his rage and his ability have strange bonds with sentient and far more intelligent weapons.  I'm going to miss his love of gnomes.  I'm going to miss team Tol and smol.  I'm going to miss how much he loved and admired his best friend Pike, his buddy who taught him to read and write his name.  I'm going to miss his friendship with Scanlan, and how hurt he was to feel he was replaced when Scanlan returned.  How big and intimidating he was but also how bigger his heart was and how much love he had for his friends.  I'm going to miss his strange friendship with Vex and Percy who lovingly teased him but always looked out for him.  I'm going to miss his pranks with Vax which turned into respect.  I'm going to miss how he didn't quite like Tary but their moments together were amusing.  I'm going to miss those sweet and short moments with Keyleth when he taught her about rage. I'm going to miss his small moments of brilliance and his others that landed them in trouble.  I'm going to miss his protective silence when others died and knew how to keep all going but how he broke when Scanlan died.   I'm going to miss his admiration of Kima and literally any woman who could kick his ass.

I'm going to even miss Tiberius in a way though it's been so long.  His bumbling and lack of social understanding.   But mostly i'll always remember how brokenhearted they were when he left and when he died.

I'm going to miss the Slayers Cake.  I'm going to miss badass Kima and her powerful wife Allura.  I’m going to miss Zahra who was so amazing.  I’m going to miss grouchy Kashaw.  I’m going to miss Lilith and Tova and Lionel.  I’m going to miss unfortunate Thorbir and ditzy Lyra.  I’m going to miss Kerr bear.  I’m going to miss Garthok. I’m going to never forget Arkhan the cruel who stole Vecna’s hand.  I’m going to miss Sprigg, the key to Ioun.  I’m going to miss Dr. Dranzel and Kaylie.  I’m going to miss little Velora Vessar. I’m going to miss crazy old Viktor the gunpowder merchant.  I’m going to miss that poor merchant that VM always tormented and who Grog hired to teach him. I’m going to miss sweet Tyriok the mapmaker.  I’m going to miss Kern the Hammer and Earthbreaker Groon.  I'm going to miss Glorious Shaun Gilmore and his beautiful voice and manner.  I'm going to miss J'mon Sa Ord and their too few appearances.   I'm going to miss Artagan, that amazing arch-fey who drew silly pictures and choked out Vax once to make a deal.  I'm going to miss Cassandra who struggled and Kynan who was lost.  And I hope to see them all...at least once more...in the new campaign.  With Artagan's new entrance to Exandria available and J'mon being what they are, i'm sure at least they'll be around.

I'm going to miss Clarota, no matter how much of a betrayer he had been, he had still been an interesting companion.  I'm going to miss the tragedy and darkness of the Briarwoods, and wonder if Silas is still out there in hiding or if the remaining of Vox Machina dealt with him sometime later.  I'm  never going to forget Raishan the clever who is likely gone forever and Ripley their other great nemesis.  I'm going to wonder if Orthax still lurks somewhere in the Hells.

There are so many people to miss.

I'm going to miss team Tol and Smol.  I'm going to miss team Half-eff and Disaster Human.   Most of all, i'm going to miss this found and broken family. How much they've been through together and how much they have grown individually and as a group.

I came late to the party, just as they were in the Feywild.  It's been just over a year for me but it's come to mean everything.  I look forward to the new group and the new campaign and am excited at all that awaits...but i'll never forget Vox Machina and all the laughter and tears I had during their journey.