#she can feel the vex behind Imogen also

[she-aint-no-slow-regard]

Getting Delilah to go away by saying I love you to Imogen cause she hates her so so much

[shorthaltsjester]

taliesin and laura remain truly so fantastic at making characters who… don’t necessarily have something extremely and inherently in common but do have experiences that were caused by similar sources and that lead them to have quite different opinions/ideas about things but in ways that are typically very reconcilable? which is a lot of qualifiers but it’s a through line of vex/percy with nobility, jester & cad with loneliness (and also god stuff but in a different post maybe someday i’ll talk about how actually their god stuff is intensely related to their different experiences of loneliness), and now imogen & ashton with being left behind.

like vex was this character who technically had a claim to nobility due to her blood but at the same time was burdened because of that same claim. and percy who was born into and raised by nobility but that nobility ended up making his family the targets of a massacre. and then vex who lets down her walls and Do I Look Like I Come From Money? and percy giving her the title grand mistress of the grey hunt because it has nothing to do with blood, or his love for her, or anything aside from the fact that it’s something she can prove herself worthy of simply by virtue of who she Is, not who someone makes her. and percy and vex’s conversation about forgiveness and it’s necessity for growth as probably two of the characters most inclined to hold grudges.

and caduceus clay who gets left behind with nothing but his Belief while his family goes off into the world. and jester lavorre who gets shut inside with no company except her Belief as her mother protects her from the world. and they both get the burden of loneliness and the understanding of love’s nonmalicious imperfection. and caduceus having a panic attack on a ship and jester telling him that the world is a lot bigger than his cemetery and that means he has to break out of his comfort zone to find his path. and caduceus telling jester that he doesn’t think she gets as much credit as she ought to and she deserves more pastries. and jester thanking caduceus for showing her how cool it is to actually heal people and caduceus asking if she wants to use his shield while he doesn’t need it.

and ashton who was left broken and dying on the ground and was given inescapable pain as their means of survival. and imogen who was left behind by the only person who could provide true understanding of the pain she’d one day come to feel. and ashton who’s a barbarian, who wields their rage casually and unapologetically and who sees the Shittiness of the world but is unrelenting in his version of optimism. and imogen who is weighed down by pessimism she doesn’t Want to have but hasn’t cracked how to undo and who doesn’t admit her anger until it comes up again and again and again and carries it like a burden or like guilt, who we only see really Grasp and feel Confidence about her anger being something good in front of others when she has those conversations with ashton. and like. ashton who looks at imogen and sees a superhero. imogen venturing through ashton’s mind and holding his bleeding and exhausted head and saying i’m sorry. i’m sorry. and imogen who looks at ashton and sees someone special. and fucking “we got him killed.” and “no, we didn’t. don’t you dare. […] we are not what fucking killed that man. […] we are his eventual victory. we are his fucking revenge.” and “i’ll be his revenge.” and “i have no fucking doubt.”

and in general rp wise they both tend to make some of my favourite characters (also typically the ones i find most frustrating) because they both tend to make flaws that are easy to hate and they make those flaws very central to their characters but i think that’s also what makes their character interactions so deeply compelling because so frequently it’s like. yes yes these two characters have like. a helix of things they have in common but also things they deeply disagree on but they’re going to spider-man point at the things that are the same and they’re going to honour their differences while doing so. and it’s just. i always enjoy it so much and i was psyched when i heard about an imogen and ashton side pit stop in last nights episode and i was not let down when i watched the episode today.

[essayofthoughts]

Okay, for shits and giggles: any C2 or C3 character of your choice, given you know just the barest things about them. I'm curious, and asking about any of the classic C1 characters you poke at feels Dull

For Reasons, I'm gonna go with Fearne.

favorite thing about them

Fae stealy vibes. A lot of people don't grok the particular sideways way that fae entities can operate at - Matt does, as evidenced by how he handles Artagan, but I think a lot of the fandom doesn't so much, with how I've seen Artagan (and consequently Garmelie) written at times. Fae aren't necessarily snide! They can be, but they can also completely forget something and flit onto something else. They can fleetingly fixate on a fun new idea.

And everything I've seen of Fearne shows that Ashley gets this. I am very much looking forward to watching C3 for this exact reason.

least favorite thing about them

I can't think of anything, but then I've not watched C3 so I don't have a full picture.

favorite line

Not really a line, but I love her stealing the... I believe Allhammer earring from the... I believe Loxodon. Elephant guy. And similarly, her thieving back and forth with Ashton. It's very cute.

brOTP

Chetney. Grouchy werewolf and cheerful fae faun is a combo I think is very entertaining.

OTP

@nanyoky has pre-emptively converted me: Callowmoore. Largely due to Nell, I do think that Fearne's fae possessiveness would actually help Ashton's own insecurities about being left behind a lot, in much the same way many people have speculated that Vex domme-ing Percy would help him with his self-worth issues. A persistent reminder that someone finds them worthwhile enough to hold onto and hold close, who will steal them from others, who won't see them left behind because they're hers. I think that'd help Ashton a lot and it'd also be a fitting culmination to the thieving game.

nOTP

*shrug emoji* Don't know enough for C3. I guess Orym, because he seems to be gay and not bi, and also because their platonic bonds as part of the Crown Keepers is a Good thing that helps to complicate the Bells Hells in a similar way to how the twins complicated Vox Machina, or, say, Caleb and Nott complicated early Mighty Nein. Pre-existing platonic bonds can make potential splits from the group more likely and that is fun. Yes, Laudna and Imogen knew each other pre-Hells, but we actually have a better idea what experiences Fearne and Orym share.

random headcanon

Fearne taught Mister to play patty-cake. It involved a lot of fire.

unpopular opinion

Fae conceptions of ownership and non/personhood haven't fucked Fearne up quite as people might expect. After all, she is fae. She knows those conceptions - she holds them and applies them herself - and so having them applied to her isn't really that strange.

It's not that which necessarily fucks her up.

But being left behind and forgotten does. The passage of time being irrelevant does. Because she grew up in what felt fleeting to her parents, and she was abandoned - and we know she holds onto what she finds and claims from her own, from Mister to Orym (resurrecting him) to what little items she steals.

song i associate with them

N/A

favorite picture of them

@agarthanguide's original Crown Keeper's art for her I think? Or... if I'm to be specific the second splash page. This one:

I like the glowy eyes and the play of light, the twist of the branch that Mister is on being so similar to the twist of her staff. I think it's really cool. Plus how, as the druid and so nature-based, she almost blends into the nature of the background. I think it's very clever and while I know Hannah may not have thought of it like that while drawing it, I still think it's very neat.

Send me a character and I'll answer for each of the above for them

[utilitycaster]

#no so true#her interactions always have this like. dissonance in the communication style but the like. feeling behind them matches? if that makes sense#it’s especially clear when she talks to fcg (2 me) but in general her tactlessness and lack of Typical empathy is so apparent#but you can also like. tell that it’s imogen coming to whatever discussion with the same intentions or matching the tone or feelings#her framework is just. so extremely different because to her peoples thoughts are who she perceives them to be. so she makes her words match#even if they’re not going to be the Helpful thing#which maybe is why it’s so clear with fcg because sometimes fcg meets her on the bluntness level and that might be the product of them also#bein able to read minds. but regardless it’s very cool and it’s very consistent and it is Such a fun choice on laura’s part to see her play#especially after jester w extreme empathy to the point of very low morality#and vex who also had a lot of empathy but in more concealed and Much more exclusive ways that i think Heightened her morality#it makes it such a crunchy and interesting choice to now see imogen who has been largely amoral currently verging on Immoral#largely stemming from the fact that the way she connects and communicates with others has built a version of ‘empathy’#that doesn’t really function that well in practice with others#. it’s just. very good . very cool#also like cast pcs don’t need to be compared to their other pcs#i just Already have a lot of thoughts about vex and jester as very interesting studies on how empathy can(t) be a motivation for morality#and imogen’s just a very fun third case to add to the pile. thank u laura bailey for my annoying philosophy student rights

@shorthaltsjester hope you don't mind me throwing your tags on here because they're incredible! I have a lot of thoughts I'll have to write up later, but bringing up Vex and Jester sparked some thoughts here! I think Laura tends to do a lot of work thinking about where her characters are coming from emotionally, and I think she also specifically likes to explore The Mask and selfishness/possessiveness as themes and why her characters might feel that way, and it makes them all so fun to watch, because she doesn't shy away from something so difficult. And it's rare to see characters who aren't cis men portrayed in this way in a sympathetic light (which is why actual play is so great, because everyone actually designs and plays their own characters).

Something I really like about how Laura plays Imogen is that her idea of what's appropriate to say around people she likes is completely warped by her powers. I think Imogen feels it's better to voice your honest thoughts, even if they're somewhat tactless or lack the niceties one would expect, which makes sense because what most frustrates her is people who think one thing and say the other. However, that's not the standard for hypocrisy among people who aren't psychic, which is why she often comes off the way she does.

[darkdisrepair]

the romancing marisha ray connection: vax'ildan and imogen

you know the post that goes like this: https://at.tumblr.com/dnd-shows-have-my-soul/ive-connected-some-dots/acjtfw7zj9tk

there are so many parallels between imogen and vax and I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THEM and i'm SORRY to all the yasha stans i just don't know her well enough feel free to chime in with reblogs or tags i would love to see the connections go deeper

there are the surface level parallels: the ability to fly, their joint hatred of the briarwoods are the first few that come to mind

but the LAYERS are what are even more interesting.

both are so, so deeply tangled in the webs of fate. both lost one parent at a young age, and were estranged by the second. both, shunned by society for their appearance and for imogen, for her powers.

both, flee where they once called home to chase something greater. to find meaning beyond hurt.

and both, devastatingly loyal. both, tied to the ones they love, to the point where the defining moment in their lives is the moment where their soulmate (because i refuse to believe that vax/vex aren't and that imogen/laudna aren't) are ripped away from them.

both care so deeply, and yearn so desperately, and both hold the first confession of love in their hands (i'm talking about vax/kiki), but both with the heartbreaking perspective-

i'll be whatever you want me to be.

and here's where it gets heartbreaking. i've started thinking- in the infinite multiverses of possibilities for this campaign end, i believe that in more than half of them, imogen does not live to the end.

like vax- she is tied to forces that are so powerful. beings with immense power. like vax, she is so protective. so determined, to keep the people that she loves alive, whatever it takes.

you can almost imagine her saying, in the otohan fight, especially when otohan is about to go after laudna: take me instead.

it's not hard to imagine.

do i want her to live? of course. i think she will have more earned that quiet rest in the fields, with laudna by her side.

but didn't vax earn that, too? and yet the world still took him anyway.

they are so sacrificial, in the very real parallel of "take me instead" and "i'll go with you" but they are also sacrificial in a more minute sense-

in the smaller ways, of advocating for fcg's personhood. for pushing fearne, to reconcile with her parents. in making sure that vex has percy and kiki has vex and turning tragedy into something bittersweet.

separating laudna from delilah. separating vex's fate from the raven queen's. it wasn't even a question, for either of them.

and by doing so- in this whole journey- both of them, even if they don't mean it- are building the world into something worth living for for the people they leave behind.

they are both so good at giving so much of themselves, of lifting others up to the point that there's nothing left for them.

ugh. liam and laura.

they sure know how to make sad bois and they sure know how to make marisha ray fall in love with them.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e36 — whitestone is for lovers

4+ hour episode!

"there's lots of lore in here because I have a problem" — quick someone find all the hidden lore in the tarot cards

oh my god please let Fearne try to steal from Keyleth

The reason Keyleth's attempt to resurrect Will and Derrig failed was because the swords were imbued with a toxin. It was a particular type of extremely rare venom, extremely expensive, designed to deny the working of divine magic.

That is for FUCKING SURE frigid woe.

Which is an Aeorian disease that the mages of Aeor manufactured to prevent magical healing, so that they could fight the agents of the gods without having to worry about their divine healing.

"Frigid woe is a special disease developed by Aeor's mages that cannot be cured by conventional treatment or magic. The only way a creature infected with the disease can be cured is by finding and drinking the manufactured antidote, a milky liquid stored in gold vials found in Eiselcross' ruins."

Cassandra is in Lyrengorn on business. This is a very small city in the northernmost reaches of Tal'dorei, and it's famous for the "Moonweaver's Ribbons," the northern lights.

The lord is in his office

one of the de Rolo children is stalking them through Castle Whitestone

Keyleth Got A Message

Her response— "Of course. Yes, no, I understand, I'll — I'll be there as soon as possible."

Vasselheim is planning a huge celebration on the solstice to reinforce and renew the divine wards around the city and to enact massive rituals not usually achievable.

There are also a lot of people doing a lot of things. Agents of the Betrayer Gods, mages, arcanists, people gathering rare materials and crafting usually-unachievable rituals — etc, etc, etc. Otohan and whatever the fuck she's up to is, for all she and the Hells know, a tiny blip on Keyleth's radar.

"My current focus with the other Ashari leaders is a rogue faction in Issylra, but the less you know, the better." that's definitely the place the Blightstar ship came from, yeah? or maybe whatever remains of the Hishari?

"[The Changebringer] is one of the good ones, one of the freer ones, one of the more fun ones... if you like where the winds can carry you, you might like the path that she leads. If faith is your thing."

Percy keeps his mask up on the wall so it's looking out over his office.

Talisein unconsciously mimicking Percy's mannerisms is so fucking funny to me, especially since it's pretty clear Matt is doing the same thing behind the screen

Percy is an excellent father and you cannot take this away from me.

"I know it's early, but if you would, please wake Pike Trickfoot and summon her to the castle. If she's not at home, she might be at the bakery."

my heart is so full

Gwen named the wolf Chetney carved for her Galdric ;-;

AND VEX??

oh that's right, Vex would age a bit slower than Percy because she's a half-elf

"She was the woman that Laudna was... she's very beautiful." Imogen my heart

we talk so so much about old adventuring parties helping out new ones and doing things for them, or about how the actions they take will affect future campaigns. but this is an instance of the Bells Hells, a level seven party, presenting an opportunity to 20th-level world leaders to at least partially undo something that has been plaguing them for decades. to make right something they thought would always be wrong, and to do it in a way that really, actually matters. "we have to help them. darling, we have to."

"I can feel her soul. It's adrift-- not yet beyond our reach, that's good. What... there's something else here. There's something... it's holding her back, I can't — Percy?"

"There's two souls bound to this body, and I can't separate them. Not like this." "Two souls?" "Yeah. And one of them is Delilah Briarwood."

akdjfgshj

yeeeeeah, Percy ain't gonna let this happen

"When you call a spirit back, you have to call out to the spirit and be like, 'hey, come back,' and they say 'yeah okay' or 'no thanks,' but I can't even talk to your friend because Delilah's there."

If Pike finishes the ritual, there's no telling which spirit will return.

Vex wants to find a solution, Percy doesn't want to take the risk

"Wasn't your soul held by another? What did your friends do?" GET HIS ASS ORYM

"What if we could get rid of her for good?" "Then do so. Without my aid."

"Darling, at least let them try... I mean... we both have some fault in this, don't we?" "Then tell me if you find a way that is satisfactory, but do nothing without my approval. Delilah stays gone."

Beau would get into so many fucking fights with Percy, I would pay money to see them interact. Cobalt Soul Whitestone branch when?

Pike thinks there might be scripture of the Everlight that could help them with exorcism or separating the soul but it's not her specialty, so now they're all gonna go back to her house to look, I guess?? and then maybe to Vasselheim?

"Do we need the old guy? Do we need that fucker?" Ashton follows Percy as he leaves??

"I just wanna say a piece, maybe make an offer. I don't like to lose." "I suggest you get used to the idea." "Let me tell you, I have. I have lost everything, everybody. I have had a lifetime of bad hits, problems, lost people, promises broken, people died, it is the background of my daily life. I have died. This is madness up here, this is not something that just fucking happens. This is what happens when the universe really doesn't like you and decides it wants to keep you around a little while longer. And then I met these people, and life changed in a very intense way. Not in a lovey-dovey 'I've found love and friends' way. The world got weird, there is weird shit happening, and now I'm feeling very small in a very big world, when I used to feel very small in a very small world and that's where I was comfortable... I'm not here for love, or happiness, or joy, or whatever the fuck— I'm here because it's important." "Don't lose that anger. Use it to build. To create. And guard it with your life... I'm not sunsetting the idea. But I need certainties. My children will not grow up in a world where that woman exists. And if you bring [Delilah] back, I will send you all to the same place I will send her. For my family."

I really want to know how much of that was Ashton being genuine, and how much of it was them trying to convince Percy of something in a way they thought would work.

TRINKET!!! BABY TRINKETS!!!

"Must be nice to get people to do what you want them to do just by growling at them, not by having to explain yourself. I'm jealous."

I am rotating Ashton in my head like they are in a microwave. They have such an interesting brand of self-deprecating hubris, such a confidence in their fatalistic tendencies, I cannot wait for them to break. I cannot wait for the moment they just break the fuck down, 'cause Ashton's disposition is like stone -- they'll never bend, they'll never yield, but when they break it will be fucking catastrophic. And when they do, I really hope that they're forced to accept that people care about them and that they care about people. Caleb's journey to that conclusion was slow and gradual and we saw every step of the way— Ashton's, I think, will be a cliff that they're pushed off of before they learn to fly.

Pike has some ideas for rituals that could help!

One seems like an astral projection type thing, very old and very powerful. The Bells Hells would need to go to where Laudna is being held by Delilah, and then separate the two of them long enough for Pike to pull Laudna away.

When a soul passes on, they go to whatever realm best matches their faith or alignment. But Laudna was in a "cold, separate" space that Pike had never felt before, and it felt "very much like Delilah." Like a fucking demiplane or something?

FCG's soul is a "unique, strange, semi-translucent light... not as bright as hers, but present, this fuzzy sparkle. As you turn your hands, you can see them shifting and moving, almost like electrical pulses, but not electricity, not arcane— it's hard to explain. You just feel warm."

"It means that you're alive. And it looks like you already have eyes on you." FCG saw the symbol of the Changebringer on their soul.

did FCG just alert Vex that the party has residuum?

YEP

YES THEY DID

"And if it goes right, we are at your service." Hm. That's something I actually hadn't considered. Vox Machina would have no reason to intervene in something that the Bells Hells are dealing with if VM knew that they were handling it. So if the Hells tell them about Otohan and that they're confident they can deal with her, VM will have no reason to get involved until after the Hells have already failed (if they fail), at which point it's probably too late anyway.

.....The Hells didn't pass through the Divine Gate when they astral projected out to wherever Laudna and Delilah are.

They're standing on a stone floor that's covered in black fog.

FCG looks a little more amorphous; whereas everyone else is crisp and defined, the shape of them is more ethereal and fuzzy. "It's not the metal that's defining the spirit; it's more like the shape that resides within is taking form."

In this landscape, there are bits of gravel and dark gray stone, all in grayscale. There are cliffs that drop off, and areas where the fog just... stops. Beyond the immediate vicinity, sound cannot travel, like the void does not allow vibrations to transmit.

Oh this is super fucking inspired by Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. If anyone has played that game, this sounds very very similar to Aryshulae's dream realm.

There's a faint smell of vegetable rot, like a bog or compost. The wind is voices. Whispers. Multitudes. Sourceless, genderless, distant and beyond the fog.

yo that is an awesome use of the immovable rod. Ashton has affixed it underneath their bracers, so they can activate it and hold on if they fall.

As they move forward, spire-like rock formations get taller and more frequent — a valley of rock needles, until eventually they push up past beyond the fog. Some of them begin to grow branches and the whispers grow louder. "There she is." "Get her." Eventually, they get to a petrified forest — petrified or mimicked by stone, they can't tell. The ground is mimicking pitfalls, bushes, ferns — but it's all stone.

There's a built structure, like a cabin or hut, and there's a firelight coming through the window. Near it, the whispers get louder. "Hit her! She's here! Where? Gather them up, burn it down. The witch, the witch is here."

oh.

oh no.

how long has Laudna been here? hollow ones don't have a soul. so has Laudna's soul been here ever since she died, trapped by Delilah?

"There is a cot, a stone fireplace resembling the stones gathered from the forest, and within it a small fire burns. There is a small table and a stool, and on the table, you see tools— a pair of scissors, a knife. The body of a rat. On the stool, you see a shadow shape, a black flame barely holding there, flickering in and out of existence... you don't feel like she's there, but you see the shape of Laudna sitting there, making something at the table... you see a small purple light that just kind of sits in her chest."

The whispers get louder. "There she is! There's the witch, burn her!" The black flame vanishes, the fire curls up, and the stone cabin begins to burn. A bunch of shadows converge on the cabin, and start initiative!

ohhhh. maybe these are Laudna's memories (making it even more inspired by Pathfinder WotR btw). maybe she tried to make a life for herself outside of Whitestone or some other city and got chased away for being a "witch." maybe that's why she was on the run when she found Imogen. maybe we'll get to see the scene when she and Imogen met.

and that would also track. because what if all of this shit is stone and grayscale because these aren't actual memories, but neurological imprints left on the physical form of Laudna? things that were never experienced by the soul, never imprinted on the soul, but were in the body, so now they're here like echoes?

Ashton rage build update: Tal finally rolled possibility! also, their entire astral form flickers with the energy of their rage, not just their head. an ally within 10 feet of Ashton (including themself) can add 1d4 to attacks and saving throws. it's essentially a 10-foot radial bless that lasts for as long as they maintain their rage. know your enemy is Liam's keen mind of C3, and the possibility rage build is Tal's bless of C3.

yeah. yeahyeahyeah. Imogen said "they always-- that's how they always ran her out of town." so this is a memory of the Laudna we know -- Laudna after she died the first time.

combat done!

maybe it's because the lighting is making it easier to envision all of this in my adhd/asd brain, but it feels like early C3 is much more cinematic than early C2 was.

there's a little alcove underneath the house with roots. the roots lead to a tunnel. this goes to a ziggurat, right? like, this is some kind of fucked up amalgamation of Laudna and Delilah's memories because they were intwined in undeath?

"You're going down, but as you step out, you see sky facing you. A purplish, faintly obscured starscape, like a night sky with purple nebulous cloud in the distance, like you're staring into a cosmic shadow. On the sides, you see more roots, pushing downward. As you step forward, the gravity seems to shift, and suddenly you're emerging from the floor of another forest-like realm around you... you see more of these trees, and then beyond them, a wall, partially crumbled. Rooftops. Not far beyond them, a massive leafless tree, hundreds and hundreds of bare branches looming over this shaded city, with a faint bit of green light drifting out like a mist, filling the city and lighting it from underneath."