#they were always going to go to Keyleth for something

[gwendolynnderolo]

critical role ships as hozier songs

vax / keyleth : francesca

percy / vex : work song

pike / scanlan : foreigner's god

fjord / jester : nobody

beau / yasha : as it was

caleb / essek : from eden

imogen / laudna : NFWMB

orym / dorian : like real people do

ashton / fearne : dinner & diatribes

specific lyrics that i feel like represent the pairings under the cut!

vax / keyleth : francesca

how could you think, darling, i'd scare so easily?

my life was a storm, since i was born, how could i fear any hurricane?

if i could hold you for a minute, darling, i'd go through it again

it was too soon, when that part of you was ripped away

i would not change it each time, heaven is not fit to house a love like you and i

percy / vex : work song

when my time comes around, lay me gently in the cold dark earth, no grave can hold my body down, i'll crawl home to her

and i was burning up a fever, i didn't care much how long i lived

but i swear, i thought i dreamed her, she never asked me once about the wrong i did

if the lord don't forgive me, i'd still have my baby and my babe would have me

in the low lamplight, i was free, heaven and hell were words to me

pike / scanlan : foreigner's god

she moved with shameless wonder, the perfect creature rarely seen

her eyes look sharp and steady into the empty parts of me

wondering who i copy, mustering some tender charm

breaking if i try conveying, the broken love i make to her

fjord / jester : nobody

i'd be appalled if i saw you ever try to be a saint, i wouldn't fall for someone i thought couldn't misbehave

but i've had no love like your love from nobody

if i had the choice between hearing either noise, the excitement of a thousand, or the soothing of your voice

and on the other side, why should we deny the truth? we could have less to worry about, honey, i won't lie to you

beau / yasha : as it was

and in a few days i will be there, love, whatever here that's left of me is yours, just as it was

the lights were as bright as my baby, but your love was unmoved

tell me if, somehow, some of it remains, how long you would wait for me and how long i've been away

the shape that i'm in now, your shape in the doorway, make your good love known to me or just tell me about your day

and the nights were as dark as my baby, and half as beautiful too

caleb / essek : from eden

there's something tragic about you, something so magic about you, don't you agree?

honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago

innocence died screaming, honey, ask me, i should know

there's something broken about this, but i might be hoping about this

a rope in hand for your other man to hang from a tree

imogen / laudna : NFWMB

give your heart and soul to charity, cause the rest of you, the best of you, honey, belongs to me

ain't it a gentle sound, the rolling in the graves?

if i was born as a blackthorn tree, i'd wanna be felled by you, held by you, fuel the pyre of your enemies

ain't it the life of you, your lightning of the blaze?

orym / dorian : like real people do

i will not ask you where you came from, i will not ask and neither should you

i know that look, dear, eyes always seeking, was there in someone that dug long ago

honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips, we should just kiss like real people do

ashton / fearne : dinner & diatribes

i knew well from our first hookup, the look of mischief in your eyes

your friends are a fate that befell me, hell is the talking type, i'd suffer hell if you'd tell me what you'd do to me tonight

honey, i laugh when it sinks in, a pillar i am, upright

now that the evening is slowing, now that the end's in sight, honey, it's easier knowing what you'd do to me tonight

oh, let there be hotel complaints and grievances raised and that kind of love

[blackmosscupcakes]

One of the aspects of the fallout from this last episode I'm most interested in seeing is Imogen's reaction, and that's for a very out of character reason.

One of Laura's self-admitted player quirks is avoidance of inter-party conflict. She's good at smoothing things over and tends to play characters on a spectrum from forgiving to avoidant. You can see this going back to campaign one, most notably after Scanlan returned and, while most characters were furious and slow to forgive him, Vex was instantly on his side, delighted to see him, and ready to forget everything. Jester, of course, was very committed to the power of friendship in general. Imogen tends more towards burying or distracting from feelings and events that might lead to conflict.

In 4 Sided Dive episode 20, they have the following conversation from about 1 hour 3 minutes in:

Marisha: Of course diving into the relationship is always fun, but then relationship tension is also fun.

Laura: Yeah I feel like you guys really like relationship conflict too like you guys talk about that a lot. I'm terrified of conflict--that translates to the game as well. I don't like conflict.

Sam: You don't like conflict? Even in the game?

Laura: No! I don't like fighting. Like if we're having a fight I will be like "it's okay FCG, I'm not mad at you." If you do something wrong I'll be like "that's okay."

However, her character is now in a relationship with Marisha's character, and as seen in the quote above, Marisha LOVES conflict. She eats it up! From Keyleth and Percy in C1 to Beau and Caleb in C2, she's been great at diving into tensions that further character development and make for great storytelling.

So we've reached a point now where Marisha keeps making choices with Laudna that are basically dropping an invitation to a WHOLE bunch of tension and conflict on Laura's doorstep, and up until this point, aside from a little dust up over the gnarlrock incident (a big one for Laura, but small compared to, say, Beau and Caleb's arguments!), Laura as Imogen has been broadly side-stepping these in order to do exactly what she said in the 4sd quote--tell Laudna that it's all okay.

But we've reached a point now where that's not going to cut it in avoiding tension any more! If Laudna continues down this path, lines are going to be drawn within the party, and Imogen is likely to have to pick between conflict with Laudna OR conflict with other members of the party. It's very likely there will come a point where anger and arguments can't be entirely avoided for Imogen no matter what choice she makes. And that's going to be REALLY fascinating to watch.

Sometimes these players nudge one another out of their comfort zones. Laura did it to Travis with romance. Several of them did it to Ashley with the titan shard. I think we can trust them not to push their friends to a point where they REALLY don't want to go (and I'm sure that sort of thing is negotiated between them off camera), so bearing that in mind a little tiptoe out of the comfort zone can be really interesting--for example, Travis did really well with romance in the end. It might well be a bit uncomfortable for Laura at first! But as long as she's okay trying it, I think it could lead to REALLY excellent storytelling and fantastic performance. I'm excited to see where it goes .

[chaoticrage99]

The Veil Between Love and Death

CW: angst, mentions of de@th, possession on Percy’s behalf

Being in Whitestone for the first time, you thought it would be under different circumstances that you did not have to fight the undead or vampires, nonetheless, you were happy to help Percy out through this time of need.

Fighting alongside the members of Vox Machina, who you joined with Keyleth, to destroy the evil and undead that plagued Whitestone by the Briarwoods, who you all found out were the people who murdered Percy’s family and had taken over Whitestone.

They had turned it into a barren and desolate wasteland, filled with walking stone giant zombies. You were mortified and infuriated at how the people were being treated and the party felt the same, Percy even more.

From rescue missions to setting different houses on fire, you all helped the revolution and made your way into the castle to finally defeat the Briarwoods. Battling different foes and trying to stop Percy from killing one of the people on the barrels of his gun. You all seem to notice the black smoke becoming more and more apparent and visible and he didn’t seem to be himself, taking a mental note for yourself as you continued downward.

You all were below the castle, on top of a ziggurat, fighting the Briarwoods and a charmed Vax’ildan and Cassandra. You were helping Vex to snap Vax out of his charmed spell but nothing seemed to be working no matter what you or Vex said to him. You looked over to Percy who appeared to be having no luck with Cassandra as Sylus was in the middle of their fight. Luckily for you guys, Keyleth made sunlight to help break the charm, and together, with Grog, they burned Sylus to dust and took Delilah with you all.

Vax was helping aid Keyleth when you all made it to the acid room. You notice that Percy is almost completely wrapped in the black smoke and doesn’t seem like himself when talking to Delilah. The way that he was threatening her for vengeance for his family and going to torture her bit by bit so it lingers, that wasn’t Percy anymore and you knew that. Vex stepped in front of him and Delilah and from where you were, you could hear their conversation. She carefully took off the mask and it revealed Percy’s face he looked terrified and his eyes had blackened with his iris’ now bright orange.

Ever since you and Keyleth had joined Vox Machina, you and Percy were always together whether you were helping him build new weapons or just going into town and getting supplies for the team.

The more time you spent with Percy, the more you started to fall for him and who he was. The slightest touch of your hands with his made you crave his touch more and anytime your eyes met for a few seconds, you would look away and blush a bit. You both would confine in each other with whatever was bothering you or if you had a certain problem that was bothering you, except whenever he told you and the party about the Briarwoods and his family.

Everyone has secrets in the end.

Suddenly black smoke overtook Percy revealing itself as the smoke demon Orthax. The team was keeping Delilah away from Percy no matter the cost. That seemed to make Orthax upset and he had completely taken over Percy’s body and was making him shoot at anything that stood in his way for vengeance.

“Percy! You must stop this! This isn’t you, wake up!” You shout at him while dodging bullets while helping the others. This wasn’t the Percy you had fallen in love with and he needed to fight Orthax and regain control.

“Isn’t there something someone can do?” Vax yells out as he jumps behind the cover that you, Vex, and Keyleth were behind.

“You’re not under a charm anymore, say something to him! Say anything!” Vex grips Cassandra’s collar while saying this before letting her go. Cassandra nods, gets up from behind the cover, and slowly walks towards Percy as Orthax’s form looms over him.

You decided to go with her and hold onto her shoulder to give her support when she was reaching out and telling Percy to fight within and find the real him, which the others had come out so you all were together as a group.

BANG!

Suddenly you felt a burning pain shoot through your body, close to your heart. You let go of Cassandra and look down and see that you were shot through your chest as black smoke wisps up and dissipates. The blood seeping through your shirt and some coming out of your mouth, you stumble a bit before looking up at Percy with tears rolling down your cheeks and seeing one of his eyes had returned to normal.

“Percy…” you said before you fell to the cold concrete ground.

You hear a scream and a second gunshot had gone off, not sure where it went or who it was for due to your vision fading in and out. You saw blurs in front of you and the sounds were beginning to be muffled and turn into high-pitched ringing. Suddenly visions of your life started flashing before you so realistically as if you were reliving your life over again.

Most of the moments you saw were times spent with Percy and how he made you laugh and smile, especially when you were helping him with his experiments and some of them blowing up in his face. You both look at each other and burst out laughing as black powder covered his face. Other moments showed you two enjoying each other's presence, whether it was chatting over something or reading together in silence in the foyer of Grayskull Keep.

A tear rolls down your cheek as the moments begin to dissipate, leaving you with nothing.

You wanted to say something but couldn’t before suddenly, your vision faded to black. All senses slowly left you and the last thing you swore you could hear, even with your hearing muffled, was someone yelling, “Y/N!”, and then darkness. You slowly fall into a cold and deep dark solitude, wondering if you will ever see your friends or your love again.

Author’s note: So this is the first thing I’m posting so I hope you all enjoy. I hope to post more Vox Machina tales soon. If you’d like a part 2, please let me know. Also I’m not great with titles so apologies for that lol 😅

[sunsetlovelydreams]

I have a lot of thoughts on LoVM Season 3 but I just want to talk about one thing: the gender-role reversals in Vaxleth.

First, to the LoVM team: one day, I'm going to die from emotional overload, and I want you to know it was your fault. You will be invited to my funeral.

On to the main topic. I've always pegged Vax (yes, I know what I wrote) as more emotional than your average man. Compare him to Grog and you'll get what I mean. He's an empath. He loves his sister. You might almost say he's a family man.

But boy did this season put this on display in his relationship with Keyleth.

First big piece of evidence. The eye-opening moment. They are fighting Raishan. Keyleth is vaporized, Vax falls to his knees and cries. The poor princess mourning her hero slain by a dragon. And evidence #1.5: while Raishan looms over Vax, about to vaporize him, Keyleth emerges with a killing blow, saving our damsel in distress and taking the day. Knight and princess. A classic à la Vaxleth.

Family vs ambition: "I would gladly give my soul for one day of your happiness." As if we needed more proof that Vax loves his sister to death (again, I know what I wrote). Traditionally, though, story-telling gives woman one main interest: their family, while male characters are given personal development. Not Vaxleth. Keyleth is the one travelling the world to perfect her skills and earn high achievements, to sit on the council, and become a household name throughout Emon. But nothing Vax has ever done is for his own advancement. He goes where Vex goes, tells her several times that he'd leave the team if she did, sacrifices his soul for her and then for Percy because she loves him. He's never had personal ambition, or we're never told of them. Trophy wife material. Give me more.

The Swoon factor. Honestly, look at these two and tell me which one is more likely to swoon if this were a Victorian period drama? It's "So chunky with an adoring smile on his face" Vax. It's "I have no words because you stole them with this kiss" Vax. That man is BESOTTED. That man is the romantic. Keyleth is poised, words at the ready, newly self-confident in her feelings. If we're talking clichés: she feels with her brains, he feels with his heart (imo). The switch up is delicious.

I feel like there's more; I remember I had more in mind, so I might add to this later. Let me know if I've missed something.

Vaxleth, you are my modern-day greek tragedy, and it is a pleasure to weep for you.

[utilitycaster]

So something you’ve mentioned in a previous ask about how some of the players have decided to play characters that are more go-with-the-flow or designed to specifically take a step back, and I’m curious if you think that the fact that those players (Travis, Marisha, Liam) taking on a sort of sideline role, has also sort of affected the party’s decisiveness and by extension of the campaign because of it? Not to say that they shouldn’t try that different kinds of characters because they should and they have the liberty to try it out for themselves, but with no one else to really step up, it leaves the party in kind of a mess.

From previous campaigns, Travis and Liam have always been hard drivers of decisions and direction, in part of the characters they play having clear goals or strong personalities in knowing what they want (Marisha I think this applies to more for c2 since it was something Keyleth had to grow into as a leader over the course of c1). In contrast, Laura and Ashley tend to be players who tends to be indecisive in the face of a decision because they don’t want to make the wrong one. This has been a through line since Laura as far back as c1 because I distinctly remember a Talks Machina episode where Laura talked about how for a moment she thought she made the “wrong” choice with Saundor, but then later on came to the conclusion that she made the “right” one.

With Laura and Ashley playing characters that are spotlighted so heavily in the plot of this campaign, this indecision weighs as heavily because they play characters are the hard drivers while the others (outside of Ashton) are reactive rather than proactive or for Oyrm’s case, specifically and deliberately by Orym’s own choice, more quiet snd sidelined. I think Travis has had Chetney to try and take center stage to push a couple times throughout the campaign, and I think Travis did it with Grog too in c1 when the party took too long to come to a conclusion and he would decide something to get the party moving, but there’s a lot of empty time and space on that stage in c3 where in previous campaigns someone would pretty consistently take that spotlight.

I think some players are generally more inclined than others to lead or be in the driver’s seat and some players who don’t want that position majority of the time, and that’s perfectly okay. It’s just a matter of experimenting with what works and what doesn’t, and I think for BH, it doesn’t. And I don’t think it should be a requirement from some players to play a specific role all the time, but I think it’s important to at least acknowledge it and comprise, allowing players to play to their stengths and cover others’ weaknesses to make the table and story flow and work

oh definitely. I think you said this well, and I think Keyleth actually did do a lot of pushing the plot in C1 specifically because she was in game terrified of doing the wrong thing and explored that. Keyleth was, even before they officially began dating, someone whose calls Vax trusted, and she in turn supported him, and that led to (for example) Vox Machina choosing not to ally with the Clasp (which a number of party members supported or were neutral towards) and going after Raishan immediately following Thordak, despite the risk. Keyleth was terrified of making the wrong decision, but crucially, she had a very clear idea of what she wanted to do - she just didn't always believe what she wanted was good, and that conflict is what tripped her up. She was extremely willing to go to the mat over such topics as, for example, pragmatic alliances with dubious people (Raishan); it's just that sometimes this resulted in her being overruled and having to put up with said alliance, and struggling with that.

I don't think it's bad to be a player who wants to go with the flow and explore personal relationships without being a major decision maker. I tend towards being a decisive player, but I do not think it's the only way to be. But this does become an issue when the DM assigns you the role of Decider, and it becomes more of an issue when other players, quite reasonably, had chosen to step back. And I will personally admit - I've repeatedly tried to play laid-back/chaotic characters in D&D and it simply fucking fails. I lack the patience to fuck around endlessly. This is also, frankly, why I don't personally dump intelligence: playing as a character who is not curious and constantly trying to learn about the world simply isn't fun for me. If I were at a table that was going through endless debates with zero progress or resolution like Bells Hells, I have to admit I'd have long since said "hey. Is this...fun for anyone? Because I hate it." and I do not presume to know what the CR Cast thinks of it, and I really believe that "it's our game" means "don't make that presumption" but I can say it's been pretty widely panned among viewers, and it is valid to say "you can do what makes you happy in your game but wow this sucks as a story." And so yes the fact that the people who usually cut that kind of discussion short have stepped back, and the people who are reluctant to cut that type of discussion short are the ones who ultimately must make the decisions is, undeniably, a factor here.

Honestly, I and others have called this the third character dip or similar things and I think it's fair to say that a lot of cast members are, or were, in this campaign, either playing to their weak spot or avoiding a party-carrying personal strength. Players like Liam, Travis, or Marisha (or, to give a few other well-known examples, Emily Axford, Aabria Iyengar, and Lou Wilson) are in my experience less common in the same way that DMs are less common than players. It's more work, more responsibility, and people are more likely to blame you if something goes wrong. And I get that it can feel like you are steamrolling quieter players, and I do think talk away from the game table is important to ensure you aren't, but much of the time, when I've talked to people, they've been like "no, I would like to play someone who is a huge dumbass who can go off and goof around [paraphrased, and I mean this affectionately; I am thinking specifically of my brother's sweet summer INT 8 half-orc monk-barbarian] and I appreciate that you are filling a role that I would not pesonally find fun" (I also specifically like playing healers/support and DON'T like playing burst damage).

I do want to note, and I did this elsewhere: this hesitancy is nowhere to be found when I've seen Ashley and Laura (and various other players who are at times less bold - Sam being an obvious example) play in shorter form works. Arlo Black is a standout in Candela; both Tris and Emhira were fantastic. This is part of why I think an extended short-form only break would be good after this campaign ends. I do think it is ultimately a flaw of the campaign for forcing Fearne and Imogen into these positions when I do not think it's what the players really wanted for the characters (again, speculative); but like, they are in those positions, and the time to have said something was a while ago. I mean if that's the theme - that it's unfair and unkind you shouldn't have to be the one who makes the choice - that's fine, but the thematically apt thing to do is to make the choice anyway, with intent.

[cowinatrenchcoat]

Sometimes I wonder at VM being so mad at the Raven Queen. She arguably did them a massive kindness. She accepted Vax's deal the first time to spare his sister, not by killing him, but by making him her champion. Then she accepted his next deal and returned him as a revenent without even clearly understanding why she should (she didn't really know about Vecna but Liam assumed she did so it was big missed high five of a conversation (I think this was when he turned revanent but not sure)).

That's not to say she did it just to be generous. Absolutely not. Her and Vax made deals. She upheld her end, and he has no issue upholding his end because he knows both him and Vex would be dead by now otherwise.

So I was always a bit baffled at VM's hatred of the Raven Queen.

But then I remembered, arguably, their most formative moment as a group was the Whitestone arc. Where they saved Percy from a bird-themed, masked entity that he'd made a deal with. They broke his deal, went against his own will at times, kept him, and it was all good and right.

Then they killed a would-be god. A god with powerful undead followers. A god who moved in shadows and secrets. A god who had tried to kill them and take them from each other. And that was all good and right too.

But now there's a god that reminds them of both Orthax and Vecna. A god who made Vax into an undead follower. A god who won't just let him come back without a contract, a debt. They're powerful, they could fight her. They've been put up against necromancers, dragons, an almost god...surely they could manage the next step up. Together. Like always.

But then Vax...says not to? Says it's ok? Accepts it? Vox Machina are the death denial champions. They haven't accepted death yet for any of them. Why would Vax, why would *now* be different? Surely it's like Percy and they should save him even against his will, right? Surely, even now, he's in this liminal space and could still come back if they just try hard enough.

Sometimes I wonder how different their tone would be on letting him go if any of the others had permanently died. If Vex had failed her persuasion check and Talisen ultimately let Percy die. If they'd rolled just a bit lower on any resurrection and had to actually accept death before.

But with how things went, it's really no wonder they can't move past the denial stage. They were primed to think this was something they could overcome one way or another.

Not to mention the above table aspect. Whether you like this DM choice or not, Matt has made a habit of dangling Vax in front of them. He's thrown down story elements that keep Vax attached to the world; "every day that raven comes to visit," "don't you even dare," it being canon that Vax has stepped in more than once to save Keyleth. He's made it so Liam doesn't even know what he can/should do with Vax.

Campaign 1 gave a beautiful goodbye to Vax. Scanlan's wish bent reality to let Vax "say a few words at his sister's wedding." But...now...is it implied Vax could have come back whenever? Is he in this in-between until Vex dies? Does he even know the parameters here?

So yeah. It's no wonder they're angry. It's no wonder they can't let go. They never had to learn how to let go of each other and he keeps coming back when the plot his god demands.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

ok the gentle care list… perc’ahlia and “oh…oh we’re hugging about this okay”

"Oh - okay - we're hugging about this, okay."

Percy's hungry. It's his own damn fault; one day, he'll remember to bring food with him before locking himself in his workshop all night, but, alas, today is not that day. He'd never dream of waking Laina at this hour, so he emerges from his den, bleary-eyed and ready to fend for himself.

The halls of Greyskull Keep are barely lit, just some candles in sconces every ten yards or so, so it's slow going. He's ravenous by the time he reaches the kitchen, which is pitch black. Cursing himself for leaving his lantern in his room, he fumbles around, sure that Laina keeps a book of matches somewhere nearby to light the stove, if only he could—

"Percy?"

He lets out a rather undignified yelp, sending something clattering to the floor. A few moments later, a candle flickers to life, and there is Vex, in her nightdress, looking at him and the knocked-over dinner at his feet with an one eyebrow raised.

He grins, embarrassed. "Ah. Yes. Hello."

"Hello, darling." Her words are light, but there's something off about her tone. "Did you need something?"

He can tell he's interrupted something; he just doesn't know what. "Feeling a bit peckish."

"Mm, yes, you missed dinner. Again." But there's no animosity in it, just general acknowledgement. "Well, I've made myself a little spread, if you'd like to join me." She gestures to the kitchen island between them, which is cluttered with a few cheeses, some strawberries Percy knows to come from Keyleth's garden, and a half-drunk glass of red wine.

"Oh, a midnight snacker after my own heart." He comes around the island to start picking at the makeshift charcuterie board. "So what as you up at this hour? I'm a workaholic, but usually you're rather insistent upon your beauty sleep."

She sticks her tongue out at him, then pops a cube of cheese into her mouth. "Just...couldn't sleep." She shrugs. "It happens sometimes."

He's well familiar with that, isn't he? "Lots of ghosts in the night, aren't there?"

She hums in agreement. There is a minute of silence between them, marred only by small sounds of chewing, and then she asks, "Did you like your father?"

He almost swallows a strawberry whole. "I—sorry—" He finishes hacking before he continues. "Did I what?"

"Your father. Did you like him?" She sips from her glass nonchalantly.

Percy blinks. "I—well—hmm." This was not a question he'd contemplated in a very long time. "He was a complicated man, my father. Not very affectionate, stubborn as a goat, more children than frankly he knew what to do with." Vex laughs at that. "But...I never thought he didn't love us. Me. You always knew where you stood with my father. If he was pleased, he showed it. If he was cross, you knew why." Percy pauses. "To be honest, I'm not sure I knew the man well enough to know if I liked him. He died before I got the chance to understand him as someone other than my father."

"I see." Vex swirls the wine in her glass round and round and round. "My father is an incomparable prick incapable of love."

Percy has no idea what to say to that. He just stares at her, slack-jawed, as she calmly finished her wine and sets her glass down on the island. Then, in the most shocking move yet, she throws her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He catches her automatically, his hands splaying on her back. "Oh—okay—we're hugging about this, okay."

The de Rolos were never huggers. Too saccharine. Too vulnerable. But the twins were raised differently, he's aware; Vax is always touching somebody, and Vex's first instinct when she's tired or bored or yearning to be anywhere else than where she is is to tip her head onto her brother's shoulder. And that's probably what this is—in lieu of Vax, Percy is Vex's available option when in need of comfort.

So he rests his chin atop her head, feels her shake with sobs, with rage, with careful control, who knows. "You know, your father may not be much use as a father, but that doesn't mean he can't be useful."

"What?" Vex muffles flatly into his shirt.

"Well I, for one, find few things as personally motivating as spite."

Vex tips her head up to frown at him. Her eyes are warm and deep in the candlelight. There's a long silence, and Percy's worried he's stepped in it, but then she snorts out a laugh as her face melts. "You're not wrong, darling." She steps back, and for half a heartbeat, Percy considers not letting her. "A great number of my actions have been motivated by spite, for better or for worse. It can be satisfying, can't it?"

"Undoubtedly so." He doesn't reach up to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, because to do so would be insane. "Are we feeling better?"

Vex smiles. "A little food, a little wine, a little company...yes, I think so." She rocks up onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Goodnight, Percy."

And then she is gone, and Percy is alone with the cheese and the strawberries and the feeling of her lips on his face, a lingering warmth in this drafty kitchen. He stands there, unmoving, unblinking, until the candle burns low, until the chill of her absence forces his body toward bed, toward dreams he is not yet ready to understand.

[demigoddessqueens]

the love letter

based off a movie recommendation from @whoviancumberbunny called The Love Letter

Summary: an enchanted desk where Person A leaves their letters and Person B finds and reads them across time/dimension (this is also the premise from the movie too)

Percy

Surprised at this little family secret hidden away in the house, and while he initially thinks it foolish, he sends one only to have your response back. In you, he finds a kindred spirit who he can speak with and he appreciates feedback from you if he ever sent

You two banter like long lost loves over your letters, made up nicknames for each other and countless “my loves” as well

Vax’ildan

Ok I’m gonna give my boi his much overdue happy ending and this is also kinda leaning into the movie’s plot too 😭💕🥹❤️‍🩹

He loves sending these letters back and forth you. It’s sweet, sensual and for the time he thinks he has, there’s a comfort in it that there’s someone he can look forward to

back in your world, the letters stopped coming from him and you were worried sick that something had happened to him. Your heart shatters when you receive word from those who call themselves his friends and they tell you of his fate. In the few days that follow after, you try to console a broken heart until you come across a stranger who makes you feel like you’ve met before. Tall, beautifully tanned skin, warm eyes and raven dark hair with a braid to his side. You’re both so lost in the surprise and familiarity of it all, you don’t notice the unseen golden thread of fate that binds you together.

Keyleth

At first she was surprised by Percy’s little magic desk and sent one just to see what would happen.

Writing back and forth to you was one of the greatest days of her life.

Scanlan

Though he’s never seen your face, it’s an old familiar feeling stewing within when you write back and forth to each other. If you’re a fan of music, he sends sheet music to you and loves the little love notes you make in the corners of pages

Vex’ahlia

Naturally curious, she sends a few letters just to see and is thrilled to see that you’ve written back. You always compliment her writing, how pretty she sounds in writing, and the back and forth of “(my) darling”

Grog

He’s excited like a kid and at times just shoved bundles of letters in one go, to which they explode all over your desk. Sometimes he’ll even leave a doodle here and there of what he’s done/seen on travels

Pike

She thinks this is an interesting find in Whitestone and sends one just to see what happens

After the first time, she’s always eager to check the desk almost everyday just to see what you’ve written back. It’s one of the highlights of her day

BONUS: I feel tho, that if you attached a Polaroid/photo of yourself, they’re holding onto that like it’s priceless because now there’s a face to a name and your letters

[neopuff]

title: the second time word count: ~1700 ships/characters: vex/percy, keyleth summary: His night with Vex’ahlia had awakened something in him that he wanted to explore. ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60153133

x

Things had calmed down quite a lot since they entered Scanlan’s…chateau. His stronghold. Whatever he was choosing to call it. It was clear from how Grog and Keyleth were staring at Pike that something significant had happened to her in Dis, though Percy wasn’t sure when would be an appropriate time to ask about it. He supposed she would tell him and Vex’ahlia if they needed to know - Vex had never explained all the details of how she procured Fenthras, after all.

It wasn’t exactly like they were keeping secrets. Some things…they just didn’t want to talk about. Some things were difficult to talk about.

As Percy enjoyed some of the endless supply of red wine that Scanlan provided, he hoped it wasn’t obvious that he kept glancing towards Vex.

Some things were very difficult to talk about.

Especially after trying and failing, and then having a very awkward conversation that did not go the way he’d wanted, and then…well. She’d said they didn’t need to be apart. He understood that, generally. But he wasn’t sure exactly how to…initiate. Being together. Again. And maybe another time after that.

His experience with sex was as limited as a person’s experience could be, but his night with Vex’ahlia had awakened something in him that he wanted to explore. He wanted to explore it with her and only her. But he didn’t want to come across as desperate or needy - she clearly didn’t mind his inexperience, but he had a feeling that it’d get old quickly.

Percy was adjusting his glasses and pretending not to stare at her again - she was laughing at something Scanlan said, and she always looked so beautiful when she laughed - when he was reminded that he was in a very public area.

“Hey!”

He jumped slightly, and in his embarrassment tried to pretend he didn’t by combing his fingers through his hair and smiling at the redhead who appeared next to him. “Hello, Keyleth.”

She smiled at him, glancing towards where Vex was standing and then back to him. “You might want to slow down on the wine, Percy. Your cheeks are all red.”

Whether the redness was from the wine or his embarrassment, Percy wasn’t sure, but he knew they would only get redder if he stayed where he was. “Ah. Well. I suppose I should stop, then.”

Keyleth stared at him, almost knowingly, but Percy had no intention of talking to her about what was going on between him and Vex. Her brother knowing about them was already anxiety-inducing enough, especially considering how little Vax thought of Percy. Keyleth thought the world of both of them, but she’d be so happy for them that she’d tell Pike and Scanlan and it was just too much, too soon.

Especially since they were just…casual. Or whatever they were. Percy wasn’t sure how to define it, since Vex didn’t seem comfortable giving them a label. And he was going to respect that as long as his heart could take it. Because he did want to be with her as completely as possible, but if he pushed too hard and made her pull away, the loss would be agonizing.

Percy adjusted his glasses again and left the main room, heading towards what Scanlan said could be his bedroom for the duration of their stay. It was nice, surprisingly clean. Bigger than their usual accommodations outside of Whitestone.

He sat on the edge of his bed for well over twenty minutes as he tried to decide what to do. He needed to talk to Vex, obviously. He couldn’t just waltz up to her and ask if she’d like to go for another roll in the hay, even if that was exactly what was on his mind.

Percy grumbled and held his hands against his face, squeezing his glasses into the root of his nose. It was going to leave an annoying red line, but he was so annoyed with himself he couldn’t help it. Why couldn’t he just walk up to her and say exactly what he was thinking? If Scanlan could manage to bed strangers with hardly any effort, surely Percival could invite a friend that he’s already had sex with to repeat the activity.

His face heated up as he thought about it again. Maybe he would just go take a bath in one of the hot springs and see how he felt after that. He needed to wash up, anyway, especially if he wanted to impress Vex’ahlia.

He stripped off most of his clothes and considered the possibility that he could invite Vex to the hot springs with him. It would be putting himself out there without being too obvious about his intentions. Though she’d obviously understand what he meant, because she could always tell what he was thinking.

Swimsuit, extra pair of shorts, and towel grabbed, Percy poked his head out of his room to see if anyone was in the hallway. Vex’s assigned room was just across from his, so he quickly stepped forward and knocked.

“...Vex?” he asked softly, knocking again.

Another few seconds passed without an answer, and Percy felt very defeated to realize that she wasn’t in her room. He didn’t want to go back out to the main room and see if she was there, because he would not want to ask her to join him in front of anyone else.

So he’d go to the hot spring by himself. Take a breather. Try to talk to Vex sometime in the evening, maybe they could have a drink together and enjoy one another’s company again. Possibly. Hopefully. 

God, he really hoped she wanted to.

Percy was happy that he didn’t come across anyone from the team as he made his way outside, and one of the springs in a more remote location was completely empty when he found it. He took a deep breath, enjoying the warm steam against his skin. After their long, long day in the freezing cold, it would be nice to warm up properly.

He folded his towel and extra clothes, leaving them in a dry spot not too far from the spring. Then he went back and forth, trying to decide if he needed to keep his swimsuit on. Since they were in a place surrounded by visions of Scanlan, he felt like he didn’t have full privacy. But Scanlan swore that they were just sculptures, and he couldn’t see anything that wasn’t within his personal eye line.

With a deep breath, he decided to believe Scanlan. Hot springs were meant to be enjoyed naked, so he was going to take the plunge.

Percy sighed dreamily as he sunk into the water - hot bubbles climbing up his skin and tingling every nerve. It wasn’t as nice a feeling as being with Vex, but it was definitely in second place. If he had to rank them.

Less than ten minutes of relaxing passed before Percy heard the sound of footsteps nearby, and opened his eyes to see a blurry figure with tan skin and dark hair looking at him from around the corner.

“There you are!”

There was no mistaking that voice. “Vex!” he said, surprised. Percy sat up straighter and stared at her, wishing he hadn’t taken off his glasses. “H-how are you?” He internally scolded himself for stuttering, knowing he had no reason to be nervous. But still, nervous he was.

Vex came a little closer and he could sort of see a smirk on her face. “You haven’t been avoiding me, have you?”

“Of course not,” he answered quickly. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “I…tried to talk to you earlier, but you weren’t in your room, so…I wasn’t sure, um. I didn’t want to bother you if you were busy.”

She let out a soft chuckle and suddenly tore off her towel, revealing her entire naked self to the hot steam and Percy’s wandering eyes. “Mind if I join you?” she asked with a sultry lilt, entering the water before he answered since she knew exactly what his answer would be.

“Would you hand me my glasses?” he asked, watching each and every movement very closely. “They’re just behind you.”

Vex ignored him and waded over, her breasts fully visible above the water while she reached her hands back and undid her hair. Her body moved rhythmically as she shook out her hair and Percy found himself completely mesmerized. She was close enough to see and certainly close enough to feel.

“Gods, you are beautiful,” he said quietly, not completely sure if his lips even moved. His brain was running on overdrive and all he wanted to do was grab her and hold her and feel her and-

She laughed and leaned forward, laying one hand on his chest. “You’re not so bad yourself,” she mumbled, stepping even closer.

Vex dove her other hand into the water, feeling around for an obvious target, then laid her fingers gently at the bottom of his stomach. She kept her hand still at the sound of him hitching his breath and looked up to stare in his eyes. “Are we still…good?”

He felt like his nerves were on fire. Vex’s lips were so close to his own and her hand was- and he-!

Percy nodded and laid his hands on the sides of her face, pulling her to him for a much-needed kiss. He wanted her so badly that it ached. He pulled away from the kiss and went back several times, pausing for a moment to answer her question in pieces. “Yes-! Please-! Anytime-! I-! Yes-!”

She smiled into the kisses and grabbed him, very satisfied by the way he twitched under her ministrations.

Percy felt like he was floating on air. It wasn’t often that he was happy - he hadn’t been truly happy for a long, long time. But being with Vex made him feel more relaxed, more calm, more alive. He was sure that he’d be able to work himself up to initiating their next rendezvous now that he was a bit more confident in their status.

Her tongue slipped into his mouth and Percy sighed happily, wrapping his arms around her. When he was with her, it felt like there was nothing wrong in the world. 

All he wanted or needed was Vex’ahlia.

[suntiger745]

Well well, that was certainly an interesting trip... An excellent trio of episodes to finish the season. The more I see of the animated show, the more appropriate the legend part of the Legend of Vox Machina feels. Things progress generally more smoothly, storywise. We get to see things we didn't see in the campaign. Events sometimes happen in a different order. Some things are outright different. We also loose some of the depth the messiness and more time for the characters to grow that the campaign's longer timeline of events brought. Appropriate I suppose. But even so, the heart of it is always there.

Tying the earth ashari trial that we never saw to the searching and finding of Raishan was a neat combination. Also big props to Marisha Ray for the range of anger, vulnerability, panic, acceptance and confidence Keyleth went through in episodes 10 and 11. It was also great to see Raishan's plan realized, which she never managed in the campaign (also, very cool lair actions). Raishan calling Keyleth a child was a nice bit of dragon arrogance. And to be fair, Raishan is old and very smart. Perhaps with time as she learned about her new dracolich body she would have been able to withstand or repel the cursed disease that Keyleth transferred into her. But not when the body was so new and she was still getting used to it. Nature is good at breaking down flesh and sinew after all, and the death curse was targeted specifically at Raishan. Vex'ahlia and Vax'ildan going after Ripley was cool. A look into the past almost, when the twins were on their own and getting involved with the seedy underbelly of civilization. A nice nod to Vax's Clasp connection. And of course Vex'ahlia getting the final blow on Ripley.

A detail people might not think about in all the vengeance quests, demon abilities, gunfire and Ripley meeting her end is that some people survived that. And they know about firearms now. And it's a safe bet there is at least a few other stashes of guns wherever that ship has its home base. The cat is well and truly out of the bag now when it comes to guns proliferating across Exandria. Not with the same push and quality as if Ripley was still alive, but still. That's important for the world setting, even if it won't impact Vox Machina's story much (though it might yet, we'll see).

The search for Percy's soul and the way they did the resurrection ritual was very cool as well. I liked the way they showed several of the people present contribute to the ritual and Laura Bailey of course killed it again with Vex'ahlia baring her heart to Percy's spirit.

I don't think the markings on Vax's arm is the Matron's doing though. I think it's merely an effect of going through with the ritual, especially for a soul imprisoned by a demon. More likely than the Matron of Ravens punishing Vax, I think that corruption/disease in his arm is either Orthax's final spiteful "gift" to Vax'ildan for ruining his day or simply a touch of death that will mark him as he was the catalyst to bring back a soul already dead for several days.

The Matron did warn him of consequences for going through with the ritual. I also suspect Vax will still consider it worth it.

Also very interesting how they split the group, at least for a while. It's not the Bard's Lament when Scanlan leaves, but perhaps something like it will instead come this time when they ask him to return to Vox Machina to fight the new threat.

And yet another example of where the Legend is different from what we saw in the campaign. Less painful and more smooth. So far, there might be a realy gut punch coming from Scanlan yet.

Still very curious to see where the story goes with Pike as well. And maybe we'll get our first Keyteor in the next season. Speaking of, is it season 4 yet? ;)

[pocketgalaxies]

FOR REALLL RE: WHEN MATT ASKED IF ANYONE WANTED TO DO ANYTHING. And then, when they went to Keyleth and Orym said "we want to be useful in the downtime"... my jaw fucking dropped. You all JUST got back from aeor, and right before that you got back from the moon - where your friend fucking DIED. No one wants to process any of that??

From how Matt had framed it, the feywild meeting between Ludinus and the Unseelie was an optional mission they could have delegated to NPCs, yet they jumped right into it with no prep or plan.

[And ohhh, the instant amnesia about why they were there. It was like they completely forgot the intent of the mission, and when Dorian raised that point ("is this what we are here for? To fight?") They all just shrugged and acted like there was no other choice!] I love them all dearly, so my frustration is borne of concern (they just walked into a HUGE fucking fight they are ill prepared for), and I am TERRIFIED Fearne will die now because of it. But also, I wonder - do they even want to be in this campaign anymore?

The way they keep rushing forward...maybe it's bc they've been conditioned by the rest of this campaign's pacing. Part of me feels it's Orym. This whole campaign it's felt like he's been using his pushing attack on the team. [Telling them early on (ep 30s) they need to promise him to be better together, forever reminding them of the ticking clock which means they need to get to Yios, to the malleus key, to reunite post-solstice. Then, an hr into the reunion: they need to keep going to address things "fast and fully". They need to get to Keyleth, to the moon, to stay on the moon even if it's risky bc "it isn't a vacation." Oop Letters died, but let's get back to keyleth, now we need to go to aeor, back to keyleth, and after all of that...well they need to "be useful in the downtime"! That might be too uncharitable? I don't know.

Above the table, I think they are all overworked from making two animated series, running a company, and their professional work outside of CR. It seems like too much. Like they need a break, and maybe subconsciously are running headlong to the finish so they can finally have one. I don't begrudge them that, but it does make me sad for these specific characters that they've been so constrained by the plot.]

yeah for sure, the campaign is sharing space with a million other responsibilities when it used to be The Flagship the single most significant project they were working on. i think it's very likely that both animated series are perceived as a higher priority than the campaign now given the budget, wider audience, etc. which just kinda sucks when the campaign also requires the highest level of emotional and time investment out of all of those projects

orym has definitely played a role in the Always Business No Pleasure vibe of the campaign but i guess i hesitate to put that much blame on him, i think the overall story has been go go go and orym is largely a reflection of that. but also i do agree that it certainly isn't helping and many ppl have made more eloquent posts than i ever could about the space his grief has been allowed in comparison to other aspects of other characters and how that has affected the party and the campaign overall

i really do wish they could've taken this week to recuperate, do something for themselves. literally anything. go shopping. any loose ends they would want to tie up before going into a battle to the death. but they either don't have connections to outside npcs or those connections simply aren't prominent enough. relvin, milo, birdie and ollie, family in zephrah, dariax, etc.? anyone?? imogen v. groon battle was sitting right there? and i just don't understand the necessity of adding in this ludinus unseelie situation it seems like something extraneous that the story could've gone entirely without and now it's just another Thing they have to do?

ANYWAY just struggling a lot about all these things! having a great time!!

[burr-ell]

Genuine question bc i always psyche myself out of writing due to this exact fear, how do we differentiate and avoid Shallow Angst when we pursue writing character studies? Situational angst seems straight forward where it's like oh no character got Hurt and now needs to be Comforted (the "plot" seems out to get this dude hurt and everyone centers on said dude with little other exploration), but say we did want to look at canon grief, using Vex as the example; what is the good way and what is the bad way to explore it? When do we go too far into excluding the rest of the story?

So I had conversations with @blorbologist and @essayofthoughts about this very thing, and what it basically boils down to is this: are you looking at these emotions realistically, taking into consideration the massive spectrum of how these characters interact with them and attempting to push past your own limited perspective of how feelings work, or are you just using them as a vessel to convey how you feel about something or what you think should happen?

Because there are plenty of very good fanworks that involve angst! Angst is, in simple terms, the examination of anxiety, dread, and sadness, and that absolutely has a place in the creation of art. Well-written angst attempts to find the character's voice in it all—it considers how they've dealt with emotions like that in canon, it asks what real-life expressions of grief or sorrow make sense for that character to convey based on their personality and past history, and as all good fanworks (and original works) do, it comes from a desire to understand someone who is not like you.

Take the example of Vex:

How would Vex deal with the loss of Vax? Based on what we know about her, I think it's safe to say that yes, she would be leaning a lot on Percy and Trinket, burying herself in her work some days to avoid the worst of it, but there are also days she'd be avoiding Percy, and maybe even Trinket, to go off on her own. I think she'd hold resentment toward the Raven Queen, even as I think she'd also want to keep the shrine standing in Vax's memory and actively push herself to forgive her. It would be complicated even further by her pregnancy, and all of the hormonal imbalances and physical complications that would entail. It would be complicated even further by the fact that she and Syldor canonically attempt to reconcile specifically in the wake of Vax's death; while I doubt they'd see much of each other in the first year or two, I think they would both be making incredibly awkward and loaded overtures that would be emotionally complicated and draining.

There are times she would lash out and times she would be hollow, and there's a lot she probably wouldn't be able to talk about because she just can't, because grief isn't something you can often put into words. There's a lot she'd also laugh and joke and smile about, because coping with loss means letting the wound scab over. There are times she'd be able to connect to Percy and Keyleth over the loss and times she couldn't, because the loss of a loving-but-complicated family and the loss of a lover don't feel quite the same as the loss of a twin who was all you had for over a decade.

There are a lot of ways to convey all that! There's no "right" answer; this is up for interpretation. But I do think "Vex will never braid her hair again cause Vax used to do that!" is definitely a wrong one.

Vex and Vax were codependent, but I think people tend to overstate the degree, and tend to ignore their canonical relationship development and Vex's characterization. I think it's important to note that Vex actually handles being separated from Vax during the Trial of the Take arc much better than Vax handles it; she makes fast friends with Zahra and generally seems to be enjoying herself and having a good time. Vex closes herself off a lot, but I think an underrated part of her speech at Percy's resurrection is how it recontextualizes the titling in Syngorn—he made her a part of something precious to him, and by the end of the campaign her stated goal is "make Whitestone the tits". Vex didn't just like, wind up as a city figurehead by marriage and shrug and decide to make the best of it; she was offered a chance and made it her bitch. The Raven Queen took part of Vex away when she took Vax, not all of her.

Yes, the loss is incredibly tragic and the end of Campaign 1 is bittersweet, but there are ways to portray Vex dealing with it that don't involve the general tenor of "ALRIGHT EVERYONE, DAILY REMINDER TO BE SAD ABOUT VAX". Like, I don't think Vex's first thought when she saw Laudna's body was "she looks just like Vax :( time for my daily Two Minutes Sad". (My issue with that isn't even whether the thought might occur to her—it absolutely could! But after thirty years, I doubt it would have been anywhere near the same level as "this innocent young woman was horribly killed for looking like me and I have to help her however I can; also if Delilah comes back I can should must and will tear her a new asshole". Like, the Vax thing might have come up long in the aftermath of her and Percy's inevitable late-night alcohol-induced therapy railing, but probably not before.)

A lot of the shallow angst you see in fandom generally has the same voice—not necessarily because it's written by the same people (although you do see many of the same people purveying it), but because the trending popular angst has to trend and be popular somehow, and it does so by channeling thoughts and emotional expressions that are broadly approved and accepted by the community, whatever that community happens to be. The characters in these fanworks behave the way that they do regardless of whether or not it makes sense in the narrative because shallow angst isn't about the narrative—it's about making your audience sad in the specific, narrow way that you are sad. It's about projecting yourself and your own emotions and how you would deal with them onto a character instead of trying to really understand someone who's different from you.

In our discussion, Blorb described fanworks in a way that really resonated with me—they're conversations with canon. Good, effective conversations are real attempts to communicate with people, trying to understand where they're coming from and connecting with who they are. Shallow conversations are one or multiple parties only thinking of the other person as a reflection of themselves, getting out their own thoughts and feelings with little interest in trying to figure out who other people actually are. And it's not that I think people who make these kinds of works are ontologically bad; it's that I think they're stifling their own creativity and growth. Everyone deserves better than to be limited to themselves.

[zeephyre]

CR3 EPISODE 98 SPOILERS

???????????? im not sure where to start or end.

lets just start with how incredibly beautiful the cast looked at the live show. and how much i enjoyed seeing both brennan and aabria present (we will get to brennan again in a second)

as far as the actual episode, i think this episode is both one of the best episodes and one of my favourite episodes. dominox's visions were brutal but it was really interesting seeing how the hells handled them. chetney and dorian seemed the most affected, and honestly chetney's was the most mindfuck-y, but the way that ashton and imogen just got to the root of the manipulation, trying to reach out to dominox.... *chefs kiss*

i loved the mystery of this episode... smth abt how creepy dominox is and bells hells going back and forth on what they should do with it/him/her. dominox manifesting as a little girl was so??? creepy but also the greatest shit ever, i found it so compelling and far scarier than the big scary demon form. something something the corruption of innocence something something

it is really fucked up to give ashton that fcg vision just after sam got back to the table... like that was just twisting the knife deeper and deeper.

we NEED to lock braius up or something, i thought fearne was the most horny poly pc with chetney but GOD he really locked tf in as soon as he took bells hells in. in all seriousness i cannot wait for more braius (in like....a fucking MONTH I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE). interested in whatever the fuck he's got going on with dorian, ashton and fearne... will need him to flirt with chetney cause we didnt get around to it.

speaking of fearne... teven saying they're bound together and expressing desire to have her join him in the hells... love toxic romance idc. also him saying he's bound to a lot of people and then fearne saying SHE IS TOO??? can y;all stop the ship wars now please how much more explicit can fearne get about being poly and not wanting or needing to CHOOSE. hell... ashton literally keeps flriting with other dudes, i.e: essek, and now braius. HERE'S HOW POLY HELLS CAN FINALLY BECOME REAL.

bells hells morality in question is always my favourite bit at the table becausse like... they're good people, i guess but really they care more about each other than other people. (and then theres orym who is just a little guy with trauma... he'll match our freak eventually)

LUDINUS APPEARANCE WAS SO INCREDIBLY INSANE LIKE HE WAS WAY TOO CASUAL ABOUT IT AND THAT WAS SO FUNNY TO ME. GOD. AM I IN LOVE WITH LUDA??? (a little yeah). tag teaming dominox with ludinus is literally the greatest shit ever i am so SO sorry keyleth i know we were supposed to kill him on sight or whatever (and they did attack him immediately) but i want to ask him my silly little questions.

i have never thought that ludinus was... wrong, idealogically, as the discourse can have us going in circles, i mostly just dont like people who murder hundreds for their own agendas. however comma i do love a motivated hot old man with religious trauma.

whatever the hell ludinus found... if it shifts bells hells' reality to the point they join him (unlikely but not totally impossible) i will lose my fucking mind. regardless i WANT ludinus to do what he said he said he wanted to do -- show exandria what the gods want BURIED.

brennan... brennan please reveal your secrets to me. please. pleas.e nwow. pleae brewnan. im begging,

anyway, is it thursday yet (AFTER TWO WEEKS GOD WTF)

[notori]

On a more genuine note from my previous post though: I do not think Imodna will go the same way as Vaxleth for a few reasons.

Vax's story was very personal to Liam. It always frustrates me when people act like the Raven Queen 'took Vax away' (and thus she is a bad goddess) when in fact she answered his prayer and granted his wish. Vax's story is about "Take me instead!" - not some kind of "Don't let Vex die!", and certainly not someone who was raised from the dead without their consent and bound like a puppet. Unless such an ending is expressly what Marisha wants for her character, I don't see it being narratively satisfying. Even if Laudna dies in sacrifice to save the others, because of the breadth of Delilah's power, it would be more of a general "I'm dying to save everyone" and less personal (and impactful) than Vax's trading his life for Vex's.

I joked about how this is Delilah Briarwood vs Laura Bailey again, so don't sweat it, but it's true! The players play their characters differently. Liam loves tragedy and plays it well; Laura loves romance and plays it well. Percy also had a dark streak with a hunger for power, and Vex would not let him go. I see more parallels with themes like: "I feel cruel, but in control." and "Take the mask off." Meanwhile, Imogen and Keyleth are different characters and their love interests have different relationships with death. In the end, the reason Keyleth could not do anything against the Raven Queen isn't because she's a god and Keyleth is not, but because Vax - as a paladin - chose to honour his faith and uphold his end of the deal. Imogen is not in that position because Laudna is not in that position. Laudna may see herself as just a puppet, or a risk, or a dead end - but we the audience, and Imogen, know that she is not (maybe a bit of a calculated risk). If anything, I see us on the precipice of an arc of Imogen inspiring Laudna to fight for her independence again and figuring out a way to do that (this is a world of magic after all).

And that theme of fighting for independence is something that has been there since the beginning. We have seen it both in analysis and confirmed on 4SD that Laudna's relationship with Delilah is in many ways similar to struggling with addiction. And now, into year three of C3, we are really seeing that take form when things get rough. When things get out of control, when you get desperate, that's when you grasp at anything to make it easier. It would be a real kick in the teeth to have her not overcome that struggle. Of course, there's the possibility that she does overcome that struggle by getting rid of Delilah and dying as a result. But out of game it has been referred to more in line with addiction that is constantly managed rather than addiction that is ended cold turkey - which for some people is the only way. I'll admit this one is more a personal preference but I do see it overall leaving a bad taste if Laudna were to die from Delilah in some way (again). Presuming they resolve issues with the solstice and resurrection spells, True Resurrection does exist and I'm certain the Hells would work off a 25k GP debt to bring Laudna back for good (which I see as more of a final episode/epilogue/post-game situation).

Regardless, it's a beautiful story and I'm sure that whatever happens will be what the players want. However, in this case I genuinely don't see them repeating something they have done before. Although we saw many parallels last night, there is still much which sets Imodna and Vaxleth apart narratively.

[utilitycaster]

re: an earlier ask, what are your gripes with lifespan angst? at worst I'm, like, mildly uninterested, but I don't have many strong opinions on it - curious to see if you might convince me otherwise.

My core issue with lifespan angst is that it tends to go hand in hand with fandoms' disregard for second (or third, or fourth) loves - people really lean hard into the idea that you get ONE soulmate and if they die young you are tragically alone forever to grieve, instead of embracing two truths: first, lots of people lose partners very young in real life. One of my grandmothers outlived her husband (my grandfather, who died when I was about a year old) by over twenty years, and he didn't die terribly young. I know multiple people, including a relative, who lost a fiance in their late 20s or early 30s. The idea of outliving a partner by decades is totally normal in our real world and to act like this is a world-shattering epic tragedy instead of one of the many smaller, realer, and more complicated tragedies that exist in real life is in my opinion quite childish, melodramatic, and ultimately not as interesting as the truth.

To that point I think a lot of people who are super into lifespan angst are just...people who are more interested in romantic angst than character or story, and see characters as like, an epi-pen injector of The Feels instead of as interesting concepts moving throughout a realized world, and their writing suffers as a result.

I also feel it's often grafted onto relationships that don't really have them. The reason Keyleth is exempted is because she has SUCH a long lifespan AND she thinks about this in canon, which makes sense, because she becomes a L20 Druid at age like, 23, and then her partner IMMEDIATELY dies very young! But like...Caleb and Essek? I would imagine they are very realistic about Caleb's lifespan vs. Essek's, particularly since Essek comes from a culture where this is extremely common (and half elves in the Empire aren't rare either; I don't know if Caleb thought about it personally but culturally, elf and human relationships are normal). I also found a lot of the people who were like "omg lifespan angst" seem to think that like, age 50 is decrepit; and for Caleb and Essek they tended to sort of not consider the possibility of nonmonogamy even though Caleb canonically has been in a poly relationship. Like it feels it's almost always comorbid with other bad takes, in addition to being a bad take itself.

Mildly uninterested is not a bad way to be; I tend towards strong opinions for better or for worse, and if your attitude is more go with the flow that is probably a good trait to have, but yeah, it just. takes relationships I really enjoy and distills them down into something reductive and weird and often ageist and overly afraid of talking about death and finding new love again, and I love talking about death and loss and grief in a way that isn't cheap angst but is actually real.

[saphirered]

I saw that your requests were open and because i loved the last one i sent in here's another one.

I hope this is good with the rules, if i need to explain something about it you can hit me up via messages.

This basically plays in the last episode of Critical Roles Vox Machina. Where Vax goes with the Raven Queen to become the next Champion Of the Ravens. Instead of Keyleth being Vax's lover how about it's the Reader they say good bye and years in the future the reader is on their deathbed and sees Ravens around them before Passing and Seeing Vax again.

I just want some Hurt Comfort because I've been crying my eyes out over the last Episode after watching through VM again.

Hurt/comfort it is! Thank you for requesting and hope you enjoy! 😘

He knew this day would come. The Matron of Ravens had given him the gift of a goodbye. He didn’t know whether to curse or bless her for it. Not when Vax saw your face, the tears you held back, the way you bit the inside of your cheek to keep your lips from trembling, and the tightening of your throat. It’s heart wrenching. Worse. Because he knows if he goes- no when he goes he leaves behind his heart. It belongs with you. It’ll always belong with you. The further out of your reach he is, the more he feels he’ll lose himself, lose sight of who he used to be in the mess that is this divine game of chess that goes beyond even the heroes of Tal’dorei. Never did he think he’d be able to love someone so much as you. When he flies you give him a reason to return to the ground, to remind him of the world around him but once he’s gone, once you’re just out of reach, what then? Will he be flying until he can no more? He needs you, and you can’t follow where he goes. 

You’ve been trying to stay strong. On the one side you hoped that battle never ended, that you’d forever spend those moments with him, that the raven bitch would never be able to lay claim to him for the bargain made. You hoped for a loophole, for some kind of justice in this world but you know you would find none. You did what you could with the time granted to you both. You don’t know what’s worse; knowing time would run out or having him suddenly torn away from you. You don’t want to find out. You feel as if you’re being left with the pieces, to reassemble the ones that’ll never again fully fit right and forever be out of place. You’ve had to make your peace with that together and you did, but that doesn’t make this hurt any less. 

Vax stands in front of you. The others have given you a moment, one moment for a final goodbye. You don’t know if you’ll ever see each other again. You simply don’t know. With a shaky breath he holds your hands in his, runs his thumb over the backs, still littered with the remaining signs of battle and conflict. He knows he will see you. He’ll keep an eye out whenever he can, should that goddess let his tether allow him to go that far, but you won’t know he’s there. His fear is perhaps one day he won’t even remember you but how could he forget the one that holds his heart, guards it for the rest of your life and beyond. It will always belong to you. He’ll always belong to you. He loves you. That is a simple truth not even a goddess can change. 

“You have no idea how much I love you.” His voice cracks as he speaks and he watches the silent tears collect in your eyes. You squeeze your eyes shut. The tears spill and you hold on tighter; a grip that grounds him to this earth and reminds him this is real. 

“Why must it hurt so much?” You manage to speak as you open your eyes once more. Vax brushes away your fallen tears. He takes a deep breath. 

“Because this was real. It’s unfair but it’s really. And long after I’m gone, it’ll still be real. I’ll love you to the end of these worlds and beyond. Even when I’m not there to tell you. I want you to remember; I love you.” He carefully repeats those last three words with as much confidence and reassurance he can, despite the tears falling from his own eyes. He has not the care to wipe them away, or stop them for that matter. You take a deep breath and nod more to yourself than to him as if you’re reassuring yourself. You cup his cheeks, following each mark and feature as if committing them to memory, as if you’d forget them. 

“I’ll love you through this world and the next, until they come falling apart. I’ll love you and in my heart I know we will meet again. One day, I promise you, we will meet again  and when that day comes, I will never let you go.” You have never made a vow more true in your life. Vax knows it too. Not even his mind can counter the implications of those words. They are a simple fact. Though he wishes he hopes, he feels as if hope is not involved in this matter at all. Not when you made this vow. You will keep it. He is unsure if it’ll hurt him beyond measure, or if it is another blessing, to see you one last time, to know he’ll see you, and be reminded of his heart. 

“You are my heart.” He guides one of your hands to his chest. “Forever it is yours.” 

“And I will keep it safe. For as long as you keep mine.” You entwine your fingers with his and gently lean in. Your lips meet his in a soft kiss; one of intent and one binding like a true promise, like a bargain struck or a deal made. He’ll make any deal when it comes to you. He’ll offer up all he has to bargain with, for you. Even though he has nothing left but you and the memories of you and those he will not part with. He belongs with you as you belong with him. Whether it be a decade or a century, he will wait an eternity if he must. 

When you finally part, and he steps away, into the embrace of raven feathers you weep your silent tears, as does he, as do your friends. Vax knows you’ll be in good hands. You’ll have them. He’ll watch over you, he’ll watch over you all and be your guardian. You will find him in the feathers of the raven’s black, and the wings upon the wind. You will find him in the knife sharp and the kindness of heart. You will carry him with you always. Your paths will cross again even if it will be in pain and heartache. 

————

Many years have passed. They in and of themselves seem like an eternity, no matter the happiness shared, a part is always missing. You have seen your friends find love and happiness and build their families, achieve greatness and change the world. You’re happy for them and happy to be part of their lives, you’re happy to be part of that change. Change comes with risks. And the world changes fast. Enemies rise and fall but the larger underlying schemes and plots reveal themselves slowly, centuries in the making. Not all are enemies that can just be fought, or at least not without consequence and risk. New heroes rise. Their era has come and they must shape this world into the next, to leave it better than they found it. You intend to keep that circle going. Fight today for a better tomorrow. Your friends do too but they cannot afford to make the same sacrifices they might have made in the past. They have other paths now. You would not let Vex and Percy leave their children orphaned or abandoned like they were. You would not send a people into chaos through the loss of the Voice of the Tempest. 

You would not let the closest of friends lose each other. You are part of that too. Should any of you fall, you would be mourned but as opposed to you they choose to live lives outside of adventure and the looming risk of death at every corner. It was no surprise for you, to do these things, to live this life, and compared to them the only thing you had to lose was them, the only thing they had to lose was you. Should you meet your demise you know it might affect them, hurt them even but they could live on. You would not stand in the way of their happiness and you could meet your end peacefully and fulfilled you’d have done everything in your power to make this world a better place for them. That is your legacy, your life and your promise because no matter what, you know where your promise leads. 

And that day finally comes. With enemies grown too bold, you joined the forces that fought against them. Another end to the world as you know it will not serve anyone well. They are willing to shed the blood of many to achieve this godless world, but that is not a price you’re willing to pay. You fought them, proved to be a liability and when that cut of magic hit you, that final blow, when your vision faded on the colour of pale silvery blonde and a cold stare, you knew the end would be there. You delivered one final blow. You managed to give an opportunity to those who needed it. Your life bought them time and you hope it is enough for their road to success. You have paved it, now they must take over. You have done your part. 

And as you lay there on the ground among the rubble and ashes, among the chaos, you do not feel the pain, you do not hear the noise or see the sky. You see the creeping darkness, hear the muffled words over the beat of wings. You feel a cold touch reach for you, caress your cheek. 

“I’m sorry it had to end like this. I wish you could have said your goodbyes.” You know that voice. You’ve not heard it in decades but you know it well. Despite the fact you take your last breath, you feel more alive than you have in a long time. You see the golden strand that connects you to the feathered half-elf above you. Your fingers wrap around his wrist and for the first time you feel him, you feel his touch and he feels yours. 

“So do I.” You breathe and expect the ache in your chest but find none. There is no pain in your heart and you feel as if you’re floating. You sit up as he kneels beside you and it takes you some time to realise you’re not among rubble and ruin but instead find yourself on the black marble hall of a place you have only ever been able to imagine; every bit as macabre as it is beautiful. 

He sees you, truly sees you. He touches you, to remind himself this is not some sort of dream, that you are real and this is true. His heart aches for the first time in decades and while he does not particularly likes the feeling he remembers you and for you he’ll endure. You brought his heart back to him and despite the circumstances he is glad to be the one to receive you here. He doesn’t know what comes next, he doesn’t know if you’ll be able to stay of if you’ll move on but for now you have this. You share this and this is real. He has changed and so have you. You are still as beautiful as he remembers you, still as bright as he has seen you and despite your previous pain you smile. You cup his cheek and press your lips against his as if not a moment has passed. All these years he’s felt so dead, and all it took to be reminded of what life was like was for you to show him. He won’t let you go this time around and he dares bet you won’t let him slip between the cracks either.