#poor orym. poor fearne. poor imogen too. for different reasons.

[sparring-spirals]

RE the Orym/Fearne convo; do you think they’re actually planning on killing Imogen or just incapacitating her?

On the one hand these people are a threat to the Air Ashari and have attacked them before, and I can easily Orym being this ruthless.

On the other hand, I don’t see why Orym would delegate to Fearne unless they were talking about taking her out non-lethally? She seems much more suited to (and less conflicted about) being the distraction.

(I also think it would be kind of hilarious for Ashley and Liam’s plan to just be “knock her out, grab her, leg it” and for the two of them to have chosen just the most euphemistically loaded way possible to discuss this at the table)

Sorry for the delay on this, my brain is cooperating excellently and thats why it took multiple days to watch a two minute conversation. Now that I HAVE seen it, with the caveat of still not having watched the rest of the episode:

I think the plan is to do whatever is needed, in the moment- the conversation felt more like trying to prepare themselves for the possibility, not just for "taking Imogen out" but for acting against her at all. Acknowledging the amount of danger Imogen poses, locking eyes, asking each other: are you with me? always.

They both say, at different points through the conversation: this probably wont be necessary. I'm sure it will be fine. Itll be good! There are already so many things to worry about. But that silent "if", was finally spoken too. If its not fine? If the worst comes to pass? If Imogen becomes another concern, in the middle of hell?

Orym asking Fearne to do the deed was a little surprising, but rewatching that exchange, and thinking about the opposite, I think it makes sense. Fearne is well suited for a distraction, yeah, but- this is more than that. This is an intentional deception against someone Fearne likes very much, that Fearne really cares about. It would be a deception intended to end in harm to something she loves. I think that's very different from the lies Fearne likes to tell. I think it would be- difficult, at best.

On top of that- Imogen is dangerous. They love her, but they know- she is powerful, immensely so. And so against them- she is dangerous.

The person in the "distraction" role is the one most likely to be in danger. im not sure Orym could contend with giving that role to Fearne, even if it means the final moves are less lethal than is necessary.

(Maybe there is a part of him that hopes for that, too. Neither of them want to do this. Both of them hoping for the best. But Fearne is the one to raise the worry, and Orym is the one to voice the hard possibilities. he has to be. If it comes down to it- if- the roles are bad either way. Its all going to be a nightmare.

If it comes down to it- if. Orym asked Fearne: Are you with me? and Fearne said: Always. And that's what it boils down to, right? No matter what they plan out, if it all goes to hell, it'll come down to the trust, and whatever happens from there.)

(I agree. Fearne seems less suited for this kind of lethality, against someone she loves. Duty over emotion. But also. Fearne loves all these people, and maybe loves Orym a little extra. And if push comes to shove, Fearne trusts Orym, the most. His judgement, his love, his guidance. And so. Are you with me? Always.)

[centaurianthropology]

Thoughts on C3E6

Below that cut, buddies:

Oh, thank you, Taliesin for this gift!  Backstory game?  Hell yeah, that’s my jam!

So we found out so much!  Fearne is from the Feywild and doesn’t really have too many regrets she’s willing to talk about.  She’s also bad at lying and bad at negotiation, which is endlessly funny.

Imogen was from a small town, and her father went into hermitage with her when her powers manifested.  He may blame her a bit for his isolation, and it sounds like the town treated them poorly.

Orym is dodging questions about his backstory like a fucking beast, no straight answers, everything in half-truths.  And he was really uncomfortable about the idea of Imogen reading his mind.  There is some shit there, I guarantee.  It’s fascinating seeing the ostensibly ‘open’ and ‘honest’ character being easily the most shady and evasive during the conversation.  Even once some of the story came out (an attack on Zephyra, some folks died in something apparently targeted at Keyleth, the attack on the Lumas twins was similar), there seemed like there were further secrets.  Ties to those who died, perhaps, or a few other issues in Orym’s backstory.  I wouldn’t be surprised if, when they find the Anger, we get a very different side of Orym, possibly attacking someone who dramatically outclasses him without asking a single question first. 

Ashton is actually pretty open about their past, grew up in Jrusar poor with a group called the Nobodies, who all left town save Ashton at some point.  They’ve loved people, had friends, lusted after people, but don’t seem certain any childhood attachments were really love.  There is a bit more openness about them now, but also a real sense that love is danger.  He also very much does not trust Lord Eshteross, and seems to have a different opinion about him and about the wealthy folk in Jrusar than the other people in the group (particularly Orym, who seems to trust Eshteross already, and is clearly trying to steer the group in that direction, with Ashton being the obvious hold-out who has still not spoken to Eshteross directly, and who may even come to a serious argument with Orym about him at some point.  I also really want to point out how much I love their approach to secrets, particularly as others in the group are clearly keeping some: they have private shit that they have to take care of on their own.  Theys straight-up tell the group that there is stuff about their past they aren’t sharing.  So it’s a secret, but it’s one that’s also known, and open, and honest, which shows an emotional maturity to Ashton that frankly is refreshing.

Fresh Cut Grass is definitely our amnesiac of the group.  That glitching-out Sam did was fantastic as they tried to dig into their past (likely pre-Dancer), so my guess is that Dancer found them and reprogrammed them or turned them back on, and then recreated them in poorer versions in their ‘siblings’.  I can’t wait to see more moments like that, because Sam played it flawlessly.

Laudna!!  A poor farm girl in Whitestone, brought by her naive parents to the Briarwoods so they could teach her magic.  They killed her, and likely her parents, but resurrected her.  And more than that, her Warlock Patron is absolutely Delilah Briarwood in hag form.  Whoo.  This was sort of what I thought might be her past, and I’m glad she was an ordinary person of Whitestone, caught in the crossfire.  I really didn’t like the ‘secret De Rolo’ theory, and getting to see the consequences for all those ordinary people is actually way more interesting to me.

Finally, Dorian is a second son of a very wealthy and noble Genasi family, and he wanted to leave them for ... reasons.  And he apparently left very wealthy if him throwing around more money than Ashton has ever seen is any indication.  And why ever he left, apparently his older brother shared those reasons, as he got introduced at the very end of the episode.  And Dorian neglected to mention him to anyone, even Orym and Fearne.

So much information!

Beyond Backstory Drink-em-Up, this was largely a bridge episode, filling in what options they have and plot-hooks still dangle.  People seem to want to chase down Orym’s backstory issues, but those are on pause until Breshio is awake or recovered.  Until then, we’ve got the theatre, Dorian’s brother, and whatever comes of that.

The theatre plot seems like it could be a fun little diversion until Breshio can get lined up, but it’s Dorian’s brother that has me wondering.   See, I feel like Robbie has been brought on as a ‘guest star’ for a while, as a sort of trial run to see how he likes being at the table long-term, and how Matt can handle more players.  I have to wonder if bringing in the older brother is actually a means of either getting Dorian to cement staying with the group or giving him a graceful out.

And I think it could address the other large issue that became apparent in this episode.  While the team has started to gel, the EXU folks still seem like a separate adventuring party.  They still feel like temporary allies and companions rather than being interested in joining the group permanently.  Dorian is perhaps the least separate because of his personality, but a lot of that amiable act really is an act, and he’s not genuinely attached yet (though if he suddenly up and left, I think Laudna in particular would be very upset).  Fearne will always stand a little separate, but she’s also very flexible about where she goes and what she does.  Really, as far as true group cohesion goes, Orym is the sticking point right now.  He’s clearly very reluctant to really join in with this new group, and reluctant to trust them with real information, even if they could help him.  Ashton may wear his trust issues on his (lack of) sleeves, but Orym seems to have massive trust issues as well.

I think Dorian’s choice either to stay or leave is going to change that dynamic.  If he stays, he’ll do it not just for the EXU folks, but because the others have won him over in a genuine way.  That may even force Orym to reconsider how much he trusts the others (I can also see Orym and Ashton coming into genuine conflict over how much to trust Eshteross either before or after that happens).  Orym needs a reason to stay and to start to love these folks as much as he loves the folks he was already traveling with.

And that’s where Dorian’s departure may also shake things in an interesting way.  Dorian and Orym often act as a team, and if Orym suddenly lost that, he might have to start relying on the others more.  And Dorian’s departure might also, depending on how it goes down, shake how Orym thinks of the situation in general, and how the rest of the group feels about one another.  Launda is desperate for friends (her creepy gift to Dorian was fantastically ill-considered, but genuinely heart-felt and her attempt to make him feel better), Imogen likes how kind Dorian is, Orym and Fearne already trust him, FCG likes him, and Ashton seems fascinated by him.  He’s a good part of the group, and either his decision to stay or leave the group is likely to shape them as much if not more than Bertrand’s death.