#what I always loved about Orym was how nice he was

[theplatinumcritter]

People saying they'll be an Imogen apologist bro I'm about to become an Orym apologist this man fucking earned wanting to bathe on the blood of his enemies. Let him be angry. Let him call what he wants to do revenge straight up. Let him snap. Let him go apeshit and stop being nice. Let him want Otohan Thull to fear him. Hell I don't care he doesn't have the stats let him go barbarian if necessary.

Let the halfling make the wolrd burn cause others have made his world burn too many times.

[critter-genfic-events]

This week, we have ten fics that focus on dreams. Pleasant dreams, prophetic dreams, and quite a few nightmares - not to mention the Dream Spell - are mentioned here! Check them out under the cut!

Burden of Guilt by popsicletheduck (2714,Teen) Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Pairings:

Percy's made some mistakes in his life, alright? He knows this. It'd be nice if his subconscious stopped bringing it up.

Reccer says: Percy makes a great whump subject

Dreaming Down Deep by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink) (4478,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

What if Caduceus met Fjord's patron and was just both mildly clueless and very polite about the whole thing?

Reccer says: Galaxy brain concept and wonderful delivery - Ukotoa's tricks just do not work on Caduceus, but Fjord's angst in the second chapter is delicious

and we still had hours by poppyseedheart (13995,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

In his own dreams, Caleb's back is usually ramrod straight the way it was in his youth. In his waking hours, his beggar’s hunch is practiced, intentional. Whatever he’s doing now, all neutral spine and open hands, is something different altogether.

Reccer says: Well characterized all around and amazing

she dreams of chromatic dragons by mavnificent (791,General) Warnings: Pairings:

Cali dreams of chromatic dragons and they aren’t always vicious or greedy the way they’re supposed to be. That’s how she knows she's dreaming.

Reccer says: There really should be more Calianna fics in the world, but this is a great one that takes into her Cult Deprogramming

A Nice Dream for Yasha by FeralScribe (4262,General) Warnings: Major Canonical Character Death Pairings: Mollymauk Tealeaf & Yasha

A dear friend makes sure that Yasha's dreams take her somewhere pleasant for once. The problem arises when Yasha doesn't want to leave.

Reccer says: I love Yasha and Molly's friendship and this is so painful

may your princes understand you (may your wolves get out alive) by grayintogreen (6427,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

An archfey traps Jester in a dream world. Artagan and an unlikely ally rescue her.

Reccer says: I liked it

However Long Forever's Gonna Last by elissastillstands (15557,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

Opal begins having dreams about Zerxus as she and the Crownkeepers continue their journey.

Reccer says: A beautiful story that fits perfectly into canon as a canon divergent fic. It makes you wish and hope for a better ending for Opal and Zerxus.

a god awful shitty feeling of dread in my heart by pigflight (2106,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Delilah Briarwood & Imogen Temult

In which holding hands with Laudna brings someone into Imogen's dream, even if it isn't the someone she was hoping for.

Reccer says: Imogen and Delilah and Imogen is able to go off? Yes please. A wonderfully threatening Delilah, too

What Grows From The Heart Is All The Stronger by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink) (1340,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Fearne Calloway & Orym

All seeds need good soil in which to grow.

Reccer says: I liked it

The Heart External by BeatriceEagle (103670,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Beau & Caleb, Beau and Bren, Caleb and Bren, Beau and OMC, Caleb and OMC; background Beau/Yasha and Caleb/Essek

Six months ago, Beau adopted a teenager who loves the Cobalt Soul, but can't stand her. Ten minutes ago, Caleb accidentally summoned his own teenage self into his living room.

Reccer says: There's so much insight into and compassion towards all of the characters here. The ultimate resolutions for each of them feel hard-won and satisfying.

his is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

We'll be back on the first with fics focusing on Orym, followed by horror fics, and then in October with fics focusing on Taryon Darrington.

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit! If you're looking for some more, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[longlivedelusion]

hiiii I really love your ashrym fic 🥺 they're so perfectly written that it like actually hurtssss. I was wondering if you'd been open to maybe writing a dorym fic? not sure if you do that pairing but id love like an angsty fic turned comforting at the end? just cause with all the new stuff that's gone on, and how dorians not really opening up as much as he used to with orym (and now braius!)

so yeah like whatever you want with that, just want someone to write my sweet bois cause i miss them 😭

Thank you so much!! 🥹 My friend, I am a Dorym truther. I love Ashrym, don't get me wrong, but I was more Ashrym early campaign. Now, especially having watched EXU, I get it. I get it. (Will always love me a little Ashrym tho)

I love this request though! Happy to oblige ~ It's just a quick little something, but hope you enjoy nonetheless <3

SPOILERS AHEAD UNTIL LIKE EP 101 OF CAMPAIGN 3 <3 you've been warned.

The Distance Between Us (Dorian x Orym)

Angsty, hurt/comfort vibes. Nice ending.

Warnings: mention of grief, death, insecurities. Spoilers up until cr3 ep 101

Orym nearly crash landed into a tree, the force of the sudden teleportation spell from Essek causing the Hells to shoot across this new space. He grunted, slowly pushing himself up as his fists sunk into snow below him.

The air around them was cold, colder than it had been in Aeor where they were moments before. He felt the soreness in this muscles as he pushed himself up, a reminder of the battles they'd just had. A Greater Demon, Ludinus, the fall of Aeor… gods. And a new apparent member of their group, as a 6-foot minotaur now stood and shook off the snow like it was nothing. Orym stood, turning to see his friends all paired off already, trying to figure out where they were, what the hell just happened.

After quickly assessing the area and seeing no dangers, he looked to Fearne. He watched as she blinked her eyes up at the Teven, Champion of Hells, held out his hand for her. Unsure of his presence but also clearly enjoying his attentions, she grabbed his hand and stood up, wiping the snow off her dress.

Ashton was not too far off, their eyes darting between the two while they huffed up. Crossing their arms, they sizing up the new members. Essek looked exhausted, and slightly overwhelmed by the new information. Imogen was right beside him as Laudna creeped behind. Unsure.

And then Braius. With Dorian.

He watched as the minotaur reached down to help the air genasi up, with such a force that their chests collided on impact. There were awkward laughs, some flirtatious eyes and a large hand still settled on the lower back to steady Dorian. Fingers teetering on the edge of chiffon.

Hands that easily fit, bodies that easily fit. A better fit, perhaps for Dorian.

He shook his head, trying to let go of the insecurities. They barely knew each other and truthfully it didn't matter. It'd never work out anyways.

Orym's body grew colder than before, the chills settling into his very bones. But he knew the temperature hadn't changed.

He made his way to the group, aiming for Fearne as he sidled up beside her with his arms crossed. One thing at a time.

“So… what the hell is this contract?”

After a series of arguments and discussions about the fact that Fearne was now contracted to the Lord of the Hells, and that we also had another follower of said Lord of Hells now in our midst. That the weight of everything we'd just seen shedding new light on the gods changed things. We eventually settled on the fact that this would need to be discussed further with the Tempest, with everyone else.

So they now all settled around the Essek's magical hut, each separated to process everything. Too much had happened and too much had been seen.

Orym’s own body was worn, not just from the physicality of what had just happened, but the emotional toll it had taken on him and his friends. He could see the guilt lined on Chetney’s face, the heaviness of his shoulders bearing down at whatever he had seen in his vision. A lot of the group had been shown things that played on their insecurity, according to Teven, but none of them took it as hard as Chetney seemed to. Or Dorian.

He looked to his old friend, the deep creases in his brow a new sight. At least, as of late. He was curled over his knees, sat on the ground. Alone. Deep in thought.

Before it would have been easy to go up to him, talk him through whatever he was going through. Hell, Dorian might've come to him even first. But this was before Dorian left. Before he came back and looked like a shell of who he was, empty smiles and hollow eyes that became the new normal. He hadn't relied on Orym since his return, not really. Not truly opening up, despite their attempts to talk and reconnect. It felt awkward and strange and Orym didn’t know what to do.

He could leave him be, let him work out his things. Or, he could push his own insecurity aside and…

“Hey.”

Dorian’s eyes looked up at the soft sound, sending him a tired, tense smile. “Hey.”

“Mind if I sit?” Orym gestured to the space beside him.

Dorian nodded, his arms reaching up as he stretched his back and legs out. “Of course.”

Orym sat down, far enough away but still close enough so that they could talk without being overheard by the group. He looked up, Dorian's tired features looming over. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” Dorian said, his voice taking on an air of innocence.

“Whatever. What happened in there, before, anything.”

Dorian just gave off a charming smile, not even making eye contact as his hand quickly grasped Orym’s shoulder and dropping back into his lap. “It’s nothing important really, don’t worry about me. How about you, you ok?”

Orym sighed. “I’m fine. I’m more worried about you.”

“I’m ok Orym. Really.” He kept the charming smile, but noticed Dorian's hands tighten and flex.

Orym made a point to look at his hands. “Yeah?”

Dorian's hands quickly moved up and behind his head, trying to play it off. “Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for checking in though.”

The two sat in silence for a time, small whispers and wind the only sounds filling the space. Orym’s mind drifted, filling with memories of the past of his time with Fearne and Dorian. Curled together on their travels, the ease of which they told each other things, looking out for each other. Then everything happened with Opal, and the gods, and his brother… It made the distance between them seem like an ocean. He didn’t know how to bridge the gap, had struggled to since he'd returned. If he was the one meant to even anymore. No matter how much he wanted to be.

“I know it’s been… a lot. There’s so much going on and we’ve barely had a chance to breathe. I know I’m the one who asked you to come here, and this is my fault that you got caught in this but... I wanna be there for you Dorian. I wanna help you if I can. Please, let me help you.” Orym’s voice came out breathy, desperate. Similar to the voice he had the last time he sent a message on the sending stone.

Dorian spinned to face him, his face now open in shock. "Orym, no, I-" He sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. “I don’t know how I feel. Angry? Confused? Helpless?" He paused, words caught in his throat. "They had a chance to destroy them, to end the war, to leave and they-“

The halfling reached over, a comforting hand tentatively touching his knee. Dorian’s shoulders began to shake as he leaned his head forward further to cover his face. Orym's grip tightened as he listened.

“It’s the god’s faults. They did this. They had a chance to leave, to stop their siblings, but they just stayed. And now because of that Opal is controlled by the Spider Queen, Fy’ra probably too, and Cyrus- Cyrus is dead. He’s dead. Because of them.”

Orym didn’t know what to say. He knew grief, the earth shattering loss, knew his own confusion with the gods, but... He also knew how he had been helped by some of them as well. He couldn’t condemn them all for their mistakes, for the good they've done. And would Ludinus still have done and been who he was had there not been gods?

“This is all really confusing. It’s a lot.” Orym said, voice more resolute. “I don’t know what the right answer is after all of this, since it’s something that’s not so black and white. At least, I think. No matter how much as we want it to be. But we will figure it out Dorian, we’ll find a way to make this right. Or as right as we can.”

He looked up to Orym then, his eyes slightly bloodshot from tears but fierce. He could see the hint of anger, devastation, uncertainty. Stains marking down his skin, carrying down his neck. Orym wanted to reach out, so badly to wipe away his pain.

“I don’t know what’s right anymore.” Dorian said, his voice raspy yet the lull was still music to his ears. To hear him speak at all, to hear him be open with him again.

Orym reached up then, insecurities be damned as he wiped away his friend’s tears making the genasi stiffened slightly. “We’ll figure it out.”

Just as Orym was about to pull his hand away he felt a large blue hand encompass his own. Dorian’s eyes met his and he felt his body both warm and freeze in place at that moment. He watched those harsh blue eyes now soften, as Dorian whispered out. “I’ve missed you Orym, truly.”

Orym’s heart was beating so fast, a steady drum against his chest as he swallowed his nerves down. He couldn’t find the words in that moment. All he felt was Dorian’s hand curl around his own. He felt as it was pulled away and down to the ground beside them. Dorian's fingers slowly unfurling before Orym held them back, keeping him in place.

It felt like a dance, seeing who would let go first.

The Halfling struggled a moment, his voice getting caught in his throat as he gazed upon this man. This man he...

“I’m glad you’re here. So glad." Orym choked out. "Even if this all goes to shit, I’m just- I’ve missed you too. So much.”

[cassafrasscr]

I think it's worth remembering that for all that Orym leans towards kindness as much as he can, he's always been a stark pragmatist in the face of existential threats.

Like, he has a reputation for being 'the nice guy', but... he straight-up threatened Dorian back in EXU Prime over the Spider Queen's crown. I feel like people keep forgetting about that?

IIRC, Liam said Orym was so hard on Dorian because he believes in Dorian's goodness and was worried that the crown's power would corrupt him (and on some level, it did - Dorian's alignment was changed by it, going from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Neutral).

I'm seeing a lot of parallels between that and Orym’s relationship with Imogen now. He’s said before that he'd be proud to have a daughter like Imogen. He's asserted repeatedly that he believes in her and has faith she won't betray them. He needs her at his side in this fight.

(All things he also said to Ashton in the wake of Shardgate, btw.)

Like Orym said in the Honesty Trial - he has all the faith in the world in his friends... and has also seriously considered how best to neutralize all of them. He’s been this way from the beginning.

Orym loves his friends - don't forget, he sold his life away to Nana Morri for the ability to protect them on this mission. But at the end of the day, he can't protect them from themselves. If they give in to their worst impulses and become a threat to others, he'd rather take them out himself than let them do harm to innocent people.

(For what it's worth, I don't think he was pressuring Imogen to dive right back into Predathos' mind right away - what I got from what he said was that he's pressuring Imogen to stay on this mission rather than running away completely. It's dangerous and scary, but he needs her to gather her courage and steel herself to keep going anyway. She's powerful and important, and Orym's feels that he's just a regular guy with a sword. He can’t do this without her.

Orym’s not always the best communicator, and tensions were high in the moment. I think it was mostly a misunderstanding/miscommunication about what his exact intentions were with that speech.)

[utilitycaster]

In the most recent CR episode I found it really interesting (and really concerning) that it Laudna's truth about wanting Bells Hells to ripcord out of saving the world came hot on the heels of Imogen's truth about not wanting to save the gods

Idk it could just be me, but it seemed like her truth was just another attempt to placate Imogen's moral confusion, while simultaneously pushing those things back onto the whole group

All it makes me think of is the fanon and 4SD discussions about Imogen and Laudna retiring to a farm and living happily ever after. What are either of their reasons for remaining with Bells Hells at this point, if their truths are that they don't want to save the world?

See, that actually seemed fine to me! Fearne had earlier admitted she felt they were ill-equipped for the job and likely to fail, so it's not just them who feel it, and honestly I think that Laudna's confession was one of the more valid ones that I hope get unpacked. Fjord and Jester made a very similar admission to each in both episode 72 and episode 118 of Campaign 2, of "hey, wouldn't it be nice if we just ran away somewhere quiet and never had to deal with this again" and I think that having that admission and then finding a way forward anyway is a really great moment. I didn't write at length about how Orym's "but we have to work together and do this" has also been a really big factor in the party's dysfunction because I covered a lot of that in my discussion of how he handles his own grief well and the grief and pain of others very badly, but honestly it's good that Fearne and Laudna are getting to "we don't have to do this, this was always thrust upon us because an old guy brought us to a cool orc who hired us to look into some stuff and in the process found out that the comparatively small-time political crook was tangentially involved in a a vast cosmic death cult conspiracy that several of our parents are also involved with."

My issue with Imogen is that she literally said two episodes ago she's never prayed and now she's claiming the gods never listened to her, as well as that her reasoning is the horrifyingly self-absorbed "they don't love her", but I actually think it's fine if this party does not wish to save the gods on the grounds of "we feel underqualified and overwhelmed and like we've been at the mercy of many (mortal) masters with no time to pursue our own interests." And I think that Laudna didn't force this specific thing on the rest of the party; she said they could all ripcord, but didn't say who should do it or who felt that way or force them into agreement.

I've talked about the campaign's earlier pacing at length and I don't want to revisit it at length because it evened out, but more so than any other party, Bells Hells has rarely had self-directed adventures. That's a big reason why they're such a mess; they didn't need to develop the tools to come to consensus because Eshteross or Ryn or Keyleth would give them tasks, so we never actually have delved particularly deeply into what most of the party members want to be doing, which is why we're here with this group that's mostly stuck together because they've had jobs to do. I think acknowledging that is an important step, because the task at hand (scouting on Ruidus) is in my opinion within their abilities, but they've been pushed and pushed and have finally reached a point where they can't just keep going. (This by the way is the underlying premise of this post; this is the fundamental reality of Bells Hells as a party. If you like that the most then hell yeah, but a lot of people who claim to love C3 are blaming the entire plot of the campaign for why the party is a mess which is like, so you like the premises of these characters and dislike the vast majority of the actual story in which they exist, and you really just want the story of Campaign 1 or Campaign 2 but Ashton is there.)

With that said though, I do agree that's kind of at the core of Imogen and Laudna. They're so insular, and that's been claimed as a feature, not a bug, for much of the fanon of that relationship. Like, I think Laudna is valid for this specific statement, but unlike Fjord and Jester, who had established in through the course of the campaign both deep ties to each of the rest of the Mighty Nein and a profound sense of responsibility in general, I find myself wondering why Imogen and Laudna don't go off and live in a cottage together and leave the rest of the party to handle this. I mean, Imogen is also impossibly tied up in the fate of Ruidus, but she dithers about the approach so much I wonder why she doesn't decide that perhaps she should stay out of it altogether and retire to that cottage with Laudna until it's all over.

Personally, my thought is that Imogen does in fact secretly like being the special Ruidusborn Exaltant On The Other Side, especially since she's realized her mother wasn't that (as she had hoped). I agree with the fairly common opinion that Imogen and Ashton are in many ways extremely similar people, but whereas Ashton just got a very brutal wake up call of "your parents did fuck up and you're not built different and your desperate attempt to be something special could have hurt everyone" Imogen is still out here going full Javert on everyone's personal thoughts. So I suspect she won't ripcord out in the end, and therefore Laudna won't. But I do think it's valid for Laudna to bring up, and indeed, one of the many things that would make great progress in fixing this party dynamic would be Laudna independently expressing her own needs some more instead of being Imogen's Yes-Woman or projecting her own desires onto other people as I suspect she's doing with Fearne and the shard.

[extrovertwithamission]

bell's hells ep 71

God, that little moment: Ashton and their one track mind, rage and chaos up and run; spending their whole turn making sure Orym is safe. Small voice: "Thanks, Ash", the shoulder-rubbing.

What I love about ashrym, beyond a lot of little things, is the way Ashton feels like this burst of chaos with a deep sense of their own good/bad idea, and once they're set on [this is good] they will keep on that track, because while they does have this sense, I feel like they dislike and get impatient about moral dilemmas, preferring a clear, more direct approach.

And Orym might not be perfect but he is mostly unwavering on what Ashton can consider Good and I remember the little talk about how it was considered something in the group that Orym didn't ask for, but that doesn't mean Ashton is not considering him that anyway. Like "we shouldn't put this pressure on you", while being unable to *not* put it.

And this is very interesting!! Because I think Orym thrives in trust, and accepts the pressure because it's in his nature and his way of corresponding it is that same trust.

It's so fun to explore the possibilities. Because Orym is Good, or he tries to be, but what if something happens, what if he starts to waver, and how much Ashton would want to follow him through. (A lot).

And even without going through a darker route (sorry I always go to a darker route) I love the idea of an incredibly nice, tiny but builded-up halfling having this crazy rainbow colored lighted-up rock at his side.

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 110

Oh no. Sam's in the mask again. He's a cat ... gods help us ... fuck ... the cat's in HEAT?!!! Suddenly Robbie is VERY AFRAID ... O.O ... a litter? It's getting worse ... who else is this? they're trouble, clearly ... Ashley: "Why are you doing this?" Sam Cat: "I think you know the answer. I'm a cat." Oh boy ...

Ah! Blood vomit! Always a nice place to start ...

Dad jokes ... great ... don't encourage him ...

Oh yeah ... Laudna's just letting it AAAAAAAALLLL hang out ... XD ... not that Imogen minds, I'm sure ...

Ahhhh ... the "Suck List" ... yeah ...

Yeah, it's so good to hear that Laudna truly is now entirely FREE of the curse that was that heinous bitch.

Ashton: "How WAS the Gwar concert?" Laudna: "Front row seats!"

Skyships! Ooooooooh ... what memories this brings back ... it's a little maudlin in a nostaglic way, if I'm honest.

Random D20 roll? "For the hell of it"? WHY, Matthew? Don't toy with our nerves this way ... 13? Hmmmm ... I hope that's good ...

A Message to Keyleth ... Allura's at the Platinum Sactuary? Okay, then ...

Awwww, Imogen ... SHENANIGANS!!! LOL

What ... try Speak With the Dead on the Titan? O.O ... not sure THAT would be the smartest idea ...

The Communal Death God Mask ... hmmmm ...

Imogen sends a Message to Liliana? Interesting ... I wonder how THIS is gonna go ... "I love you ... and I trust you ..." Okay ... A RESPONSE!!! Phew ... sounds like she's in a very fraught place ... trying her best but VERy alone in her resistance right now ...

To the Platinum Sactuary, then ... and EVERYBODY is tense ... the mood is ... fractious ... preparations for the coming battles ...busy busy busy ...

Oh, who's this? HOLY SHIT!!! Captain Xandis! Oh my god you sweet tiefling! Yay! I'm sorry ... Keybane? He has A TITLE now? Oh, that's cool ... Oh my, it sounds like he had quite the adventure ... but he lucked out, clearly ... a new ship? The Key Breaker! Cool ...

Yes, they have indeed been to the Moon!

Oh yeah, Xandis is definitely still VERY DUTCH. XD ... I love it.

Naming the Titan's butthole ... yeah ... LOL

Ah ... yeah ... FCG ... that's right, he doesn't know ... kind words, though. That's sweet.

"Smiley day" indeed ... :3

A temple of Asmodeus? Oh no, I really don't think there would be, no ... but yes, Fearne's got a point, might be a good idea to get the opinion of at least ONE Betrayer god ...

The thread! That's right, Dorian touched a thread! That's gotta have some bearing right there, that ...

Oh ... yeah ... Opal ...

Goodbyes? Yeah ... I mean, of course ... Orym has a point ... wht they're going into, there's no guaranteeing everybody's gonna make it through this ...

Preemptive eulogies? Intriguing idea ...

More jokes about the Titan's browneye ...

Allura! Hi!

Summoning Coriolis ... yeah ...

Wait ... CAN Braius speak to horses? Oh, so ... Speak With Animals? Hmmmm ... WHY does Matt make this fancy sky horse seem SO unsettlingly creepy like the more ODD horses do? And yeah ... OF COURSE that didn't work, Braius you DUMBASS ... LOL

So yeah ... WITH LUCK the Unseelie won't be an issue ...

I love how even now, after all these years, Allura's STILL the mom friend. XD ... it's so very reliable of her ... and she's so NOSTANGLIC too ... but then she has been the common thread throughout ALL THREE campaigns now ...

The state of play ... yeah ... O.O

So we all need to move SOON, then ... so not much time left for shenanigans ... hmmmmmm ...

THE MIGHTY NEIN?!!! Oh boy ... O.O

Making solid plans, then ... okay ...

Ah yeah, the classic Bag of Holding ... oooooooh! Goodies! Potions, lovely ... yeah, always good to have some Healing Potions to hand ...

Is Chetney really trying to EXTORT ALLURA FUCKING VYSORAN for cash? Yeah, no GEMS is what you need, dumbass! Diamonds and such! Stones! Maybe even one or two that COULD come in useful for Resurrections ...

Flamespeaker Cerkonus? Hmmmm ...

Oh gods ... slipping into New York New York ... did Matt do that on purpose just to trap them?

Yes. Go shopping for BIG diamonds ... that's exactly what the doctor ordered, folks. Get on that shit ...

Team Purchase and Team Titan? Cute ...

Where's Rome? I wasn't aware of any Exandrian city of THAT name, Chetney ...

So CHETNEY'S the big miser of this party, then ... I shoulc have known ...

Dorian casts Charm Peron on Chetney? Oh boy ... THIS is gonna be fun ... NICE. XD ... oh yeah, this is already adorable ... Dorian, you're a genius ... and now Chetney's being unusually GENEROUS ...

Team Shopping, then ... a Perception check? Why, Matthew? O.O ... oh gods ... that's not good ... are they already cleaned out? That's problematic ...

Cidrick's Shines & Keepsakes? Interesting ... why does Cidrick remind me of "Beardo" the tailor in Deapool & Wolverine? He's out? Hmmm ... oh, Braius is onto him ... YEAH, I figured as much ... his "bling"? Hmmmmm ...

PERFECT assist there, Chetney ... XD

"Weird forgery machinery"? Oh boy ...

Brewing supplies ... oh, does he make potions too? Yeah, definitely sounds like it ... anything else they can find that might be useful here?

More Whispers? Hmmmmmmm ...

SPICE?!!! Seriously? Come on, guys ...

Wow ... 200 gold for the half batch, then ... CHETNEY BUYS DRUGS ... great rolemodelling there, Travis! XD

Yeah, definitely sounds like Cidrick's dead and that guy was TOTALLY selling all his stuff ... O.O

Dorian's off on his own, just drinking it all in ... By Popular Demand? Hmmmmm ... oh, so he's doing the wandering minstrel thing ... awwww ... :3

Oh my gods DORIAN IS SINGING THE BALLADS OF BELLS HELLS!!! That's so sweet ... :3

Wow ... this particular piece of background music is SO FUCKING UNBELIEVABLY WELL TIMED!!! O.O

You'e a hell of a bard, Dorian ...

Here we are, then ... the Titan ...

Honestly, it sounds like quite a homely place actually, up close ... I could get used to a place like this ... and THIS is where we take a break? Okay, then ...

So ... a strange kinship for Ashton ... sounds about right ...

Laudna ... you KNOW you don't have a way with kids ...

The Shanks Cantina? Is THAT what the arse tavern's called? Oh, MORE Whispers ... hmmm ...

A toll? Oh they have NO IDEA who they're messing with ... oh here we go ... Laudna pulls a Beetlejuice on them ... XD ... yeah, I saw that coming ...

Oh my fucking gods, this is gonna be a LONG CLIMB, you sure you guys are up to it?

Yeah ... okay, this place is starting to seem a bit more ... ramshackle, maybe, now we're seeing it up close ... hmmm ... yeah, as I thought, it's definitely a rougher neighbourhood here ... but then I guess these are definitely more OUR people, so ...

Somethings inherently FAMILIAR here then, Ashton? Interesting ...

Oh, wow .. little pockets of genuine natural BEAUTY scattered throughout ... that's quite poetic ...

Abjuration wards ... oh, so they're about KEEPING this big buggar nice and fully DEAD ... yeah ...

Big open space? Oh, here we go ...

Laudna full-on Spiderclimbs onto the ceiling looking for a geode or too ... ooh, that's some pretty rubbish treasure-hunting there, Dead Girl.

So here, in the Heart, is better for what they want? Okay then ... settling in for a bit, with a fire ...

Ashton tries "feeling his way" into the ground without thinking about it too much ... and his hand is SINKING IN now ... okay ... oh, now his WHOLE ARM'S in this thing ... this is getting a bit trippy ...

Oh, full titan form? All right then ... in he goes, then ...

Interesting ... so he's NOT ACTUALLY DOING THIS, it just FEELS LIKE he is ... that's kind of FASCINATING ... boy's on like some weird elemental vision quest ...

Whoa ... so the Titan IS still kind of in there with him? O.O

And now he's talking with it ... okay ... so it's not just ONE entity, then ... more like some weird elemental hivemind ... hmmmm ...

"Lost"? Oh man ... this doesn't sound too promising ...

He's being crushed by a humongous fist ... great ... oh ... okay, this is has some potential ... "We are lost ... you are NOT ..." Interesting ...

Memories? Oh ... that's good, right?

Ashton: "Not broken, just ... in motion." Hmmmm ...

The Titan: "Remake yourself. Never ... stop ... changing ..."

And now he's awake again ... okay ...

"A talk with Exandria"? Trippy shit ... Laudna: "Exandria's a SHE?!!! I knew it!"

Trust Ashley to make it sound vaguely sexual ... XD

Go to Shank's? Okay, then ... a drink would be good ...

Shank's is a tiny dive bar ... OF COURSE it is ... this asshole is very tight, clearly ... XD

Laudna gets an impatient head-call from Imogen ... oh, that's embarrassing ... but also kind of adorable ...

Oh my gods the booze sounds AWFUL ... holy shit, that's gotta be the worst moonshine I've ever heard of ... 2 bottles? 2 and a half gold? Hmmmmm ...

Okay, Fearne's trying to negotiate ... if anybody could it's her ... maybe you should flirt with him, Calloway ...

5 silver and he has them all sign the wall? Weird ...

Matthew Mercer you have a filthy mind ...

Meeting up at the Silver Talon's Reach, then ... so a Short Rest and some fine crafting from Chetney and Braius while they wait ...

Braius: "Did you just have sex with somebody?" Dorian: "I had MUSICAL sex!"

Prime crystal magic materials, then ... nice ...

Kryn Dynasty soldiers? Interesting ... what's this about, then? Oh ... a female golblin? Hmmmmm ... she sounds very fancy and venerable ... must be a big deal, whoever she is ... oh yeah, this is definitely for us, then ...

A gift from the Dynasty? Okay then ... oh, so Chetney's the LEADER now, is he? Imogen audibly scoffs, as she should ...

Crystal vials? Hmmmm ... and an orb ... okay ...

Identify, then ... go for it, Fearne ...

2 Potions of Possibility and ... ooooooh, a card! So the sphere is something FANCY ... Sphere of Dunamantic Restoration? Cool ... so it's like a dunamis grenade, then ...

Allura again ... sweet ... oh ... potential goodbyes, then? Oof ... give the old girl a hug, guys! :3

Leeta? Cool! And Maeve! Also cool. Yes, nice, reunions then. And Orym catches up with home ...

Oh! Going through a tree, then? Yeah, smart ... oh yeah, Fearne's gonna have to learn THAT trick sometime ...

Dense forest, a bit warmer ... yup ... back at the lake, then ...

So, preparations have been made, meanwhile the others are on the way ... okay ... time to wait, then ...

Laudna hunts for Ropey ... :3

The boat! And the rope! Yay!

Orym's family really are the best, at least HE got to have the right homelife growing up. He deserves ALL THE HUGS ...

Now he gets Imogen to send him mum a Message ... awwww ... and she sends one right back. Yay! Pie heals all wounds, I swear ... :3

Orym: "Imogen Temult, I appreciate you." Imogen: "I appreciate you too, Orym."

And finally Imogen sends one to her father ... oh man ...

Yay! Butthole booze!

Braius pulls Dorian away for a private talk ... ah, advice, yes ... set this idiot straight, Dorian. PLEASE ... and WOW ... what advice it is ... O.O ... yeah ... IS Braius being honest right now or is he just twisting Dorian right round his little finger? He's too good a liar, we just can't tell ...

Yes, that's the trick. Dorian's got it ... Braius needs to learn it's "US", not him and "them" ...

Oh yeah ... yeah, it'll use up another spell slot, but Imogen and Laudna SHOULD say goodbye to Zhudanna ... which will PROBABLY give the old girl a heart attack ... oh boy ... yeah, maybe not, then ... O.O

Ashton makes up with Dorian ... which he maybe doesn't really NEED to do ... hmmmm ... I mean Blue Boy's pretty chill, after all ... and now they're discussing Opal ... oh boy ... just rip my guts out, why don't you ...

Oh! New arrivals? Hmmmm ... is this good or bad?

There's SEVEN of them ... okay ... cue chaos as they try to work out how they're going to greet them ... wow ... they're really not very good at this ... you're all such dorks, I love it ... XD

Oh wow ... so Matt's having THEM tell what the Nein see? Cool ... and we hear them all doing the original voices ... NICE ... oh wow! Nott's back! Sweet!

Fuck, I am in HEAVEN right now ... :3

Holy shit ... Fearne meeting Jester is THE BEST THING to have happened so far this campaign, I swear ... LOL

Matt's busy geeking out when he calls it a night and I can't balem him ... the next episode's going to be a FUCKING TRIP, I swear ...

[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions] Critical Role: Bells Hells episode 49

That was such a good episode, I know that the characters were stressed being on board the sky ship, eating up time as the Apogee Solstice creeps ever forward but it was such a great moment for the characters to unwind a bit and talk. I always love their planning stuff despite how many people gripe about it on the chat and reddit, I love their thought process and the way they try to mitigate the damage they do.

I already love Laudna but IMO she was in fine form this episode, finally cracking Ashton open and getting that long awaited talk out of the way. I can see why the dynamic of Keyleth and Percy work so well in C1 and I wish its something they can show more in the animated series. *crossing fingers for season 3 of TLOVM!

It does feel like its a dynamic Taliesin and Marisha want to recreate in a different flavor with Ashton and Laudna, and they're doing so successfully. I love how Ashton and Laudna talk, and call each other's bullshit out but this episode especially, Laudna is showing off the wisdom she learned in 30 hard earned years she's lived.

Orym's also successfully reaching out to people with Dorian and I love how we're getting hints of things in EXU Prime that in their end, things are also very dicey. Opal getting dark???

I am so into that and Fearne's immediate concern is apparent. But also, Marisha knowing the details of the EXU Prime plot is so juicy!

The gang accomplished so much recruiting Ira, finally telling some more people in authority or approximate authority about how dire the situations are. Telling Pike, even though she can't do things, maybe? Possibly? Apparently, things on Tal'dorei are also very dicey, so Whitestone might have its own problems with the Ziggurat.

I'm going to heap more praise towards Laudna because of the interrogative sort of femme fatale honey pot play she did with Ira, getting Ira to talk more about it, tagged teamed with Fearne at the end.

Speaking of, Fearne is very much still ambivalent towards her parents, sure she's nice to them but as she told Nana Morri, her parents feel more like strangers than people related to her.

Also, Thank Goodness, the team's finally equipped but I need Dani to remind the cast that they still have residuum and the bracers of defense!

I feel like there's gonna be some Mad Max shenanigans that's going to happen on the Apogee Solstice, and its going to be heart pounding and epic and so great.

FCG also learned some things about himself, about how he is not alone and Devaxian also stressed how from this point on he is gifted with a chance to own his own future. A future of his own making. (A theme that will be repeated a lot!).

And then there's that moment when Imogen meets with Liliana again and, and, and I am VINDICATED!!! LILIANA IS A TRUE BELIEVER. She might even be Ludinus's real right hand and not Otohan which would be DELICIOUS.

I love that Liliana tried to get Imogen on her side and Imogen genuinely considered it because the vision she painted was tempting, for someone like Imogen who was tormented by her powers that's a siren call.

But of course, Fearne and Orym was around in the dream and they played it as silent observers instead of actively interacting with the dream space like how the others did it. It does feel like Fearne and Orym are still at heart, a unit. In a similar but different way to Laudna and Imogen. I love the talk they had about Imogen, about the possibility of Imogen turning because of her mother. Orym and Fearne will do what's necessary to stop things from happening and it's really fascinating how that will go.

Laura's face was interesting the whole time too.

And then, and then just when the group thinks its hopeless they get a possible help and distraction of the big army with Keyleth coming in, sounding exhausted and heart sick but still willing to help to put Ashari volunteers to help. I hope the group remembers to warn Keyleth about the antimagic that's going to happen.

I feel like Keyleth and the Air Ashari can act as distraction while the Bells Hells, as a strike team can go and take down the Malleus Key. Everyone in the cast looked happy at this development, except for Marisha who looked worried and had her Thinking Face on.

Near the end, Imogen talks to Orym and asked how he can go on after everyone he lost and they have a heartfelt talk. Orym tells Imogen that he believes in her but Imogen is not convinced but doesn't try to read his mind to know if this is true. Instead, at long last, after many episodes.

Imogen goes back to the room she shares with Laudna and finally talks to her. Whatever impetus it was: her fear, uncertainty, or the realization that she shares some similarities with her father and that's the reluctance to talk.

Laudna asks if Imogen is okay, and automatically, Imogen answers she is. Laudna gently tells Imogen she didn't need to lie to Laudna about 'being fine'. And so Imogen opens the conversation with admitting that she's been afraid of really talking to Laudna after she was resurrected, that she had something to tell Laudna.

Laudna asks Imogen what it is she wanted to say but Imogen hesitates and then says something about her fear and god I love how Laudna approached her talk with Imogen. I love that Laudna went about it with understanding because, of course, who more than Laudna hasn't thought what would have happened if life had been different.

Laudna had thirty years to think similar thoughts, to wish a different life than the one she had. She candidly told Ashton she made Patê so she won't lose her mind wandering alone.

But through everything Laudna lived through she is very cognizant too the reason she met Imogen and the other Bells Hells was because of who she is and became. And I think Marisha has her answer to Aabria's question from the 4 Sided Dive a long time ago -- there is a part of her that is a little grateful for Delilah or whatever patron that made her a Hollow One, that she has this powers now and ability to be spooky. Things she enjoys.

It's a little messed up and complicated.

I also love that while Laudna didn't hear Imogen's promise about how Laudna will always have a choice, Laudna unknowingly echoed back Imogen's words. Imogen has a choice. She will always have a choice and having the ability to choose is a power all its own. Its not something gods can take away.

Honestly, I love how Laudna is talking to Imogen from a place of understanding and I think more than anything, this helped Imogen solidify her grasp of why they're fighting. It's not just because its wrong and kill other people. All morally right reasons why they need to stop Ludinus and his group.

It's because every individual deserves a right to choose. And that love also means loving every part of a person, especially the weird parts of them.

Imogen might have lost her nerve to tell Laudna she loved her, loved her, romantic stylez and Laudna might slowly be waking into the part of herself that can access it. But its plain as day they love each other and I'm okay to wait on how long and slow this will cook, but also saying things like:

"I feel so comfortable and bonded with you. We transcend words in our relationship.

"You'll always have me."

"I'll always be there to support you whatever choice you make.

"You're my tether."

"That tether goes beyond this realm and this life."

C'MON. Those words are my ship Kryptonite! If I hadn't already shipped them, this would have definitely tip the scales! And I feel very well fed tonight!

God I love them. I love the Bells Hells.

[kaylor]

as always you are so right on your opinions lmao.. cr will always have a special place in my hearth but since watching other (better) live plays and playing myself I cant sit through a single ep.. matt is great but he is almost too descriptive we dont need all of that matt please edit it down a little king, and the cast man i loved them but they are not decisive people like i feel like poking them with a stick (except travis thats my #1 rp on that table).. the most recent cr thing I watched was calamity and thats kinda cause brennan is great and the cast was stellar abria, lou travis! sam when he is actually playing of others <3 but idk it feels sad like I have outgrown them.. :/

anyway love your mind as always and what is your fave d20 season if you dont mind sharing? I have only watched A Court of Fey & Flowers and I loved it.. but I have no idea what to watch next hehe

calamity was SOOOOOO GOOD you're so right. brennan really rocked up at critrole HQ, showed everyone how it's done, killed 5/6 PCs and ruined the rest of CR forever because nothing will ever be that good ever again. the sexiest table we've ever seen. "this is going to be a to whom it may concern - i cast fireball" BITCH!!!!!!

i think campaign 3 would have really benefited from a more elaborate or expansive session zero because the vision matt has for the campaign does NOT align with the characters at all. it doesn't seem like they're on the same page at all. the mighty nein worked because they were all random people, they all had something unresolved or mysterious in their past, they all had secrets, and matt gave them a huge playground for them to develop those characters with plenty of scattered points of interest for them to choose. and even though it was just as chaotic as C3, it worked because they weren't on the clock.

i don't want to use the R word but bells hells are being railroaded into this predathos plot and NONE of them had ANY relationship with the gods, so it feels really unnatural for any of them to really pursue this beyond feeling like they should. orym and imogen have stronger motivations but orym is extremely passive and imogen just sits and whimpers about it making absolutely no decisions. it's very frustrating as a viewer and if i were DMing this i would be so frustrated with such indecisive players. but i think it's also on matt for inundating them with lore and plot so early on. all in all it's just not executed very well and it's disappointing.

oooh my fav d20 season i think is a court of fey and flowers or a crown of candy (not super keen on the ending, but i would have to rewatch and have a good think about what i would have done instead..). acofaf was just incredible, hats off to aabria for making me so invested in a fae bridgerton. WAIT ALSO MENTOPOLIS. i have never laughed so hard in my life. mike trapp and hank green were a DELIGHT. just absolutely incredible character choices all around. really enjoying fantasy high junior year so far, which is nice because sophomore year was a bit of a slog i'm ngl, probably because it was live and therefore unedited but i struggled sometimes to keep focused. junior year is fucking crisp though, everyone is on top form ❤️

[remjl]

CRITICAL ROLE SPOILERS

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Episode 49 is probably going to be one of my favourite from this campaign. Not a lot actions, however so much nice talks between the party and a lot of resolutions to some of plotlines.

Ashton open up a bit and I'm really looking forward to this conversation between him and Orym. I really like this trauma-based friendship that they are building with Laudna.

Fearne and Orym are worried about "their girl", however it seems that they are not planning to switch sides in any case, no matter what and even preparing to face or hold Imogen, if required.

Separate kudos to Fearne and goldfish moment. That was really great easter egg.

FCG interaction with Changebringer - I wonder if there going to be some follow up or concequences. Never meet your idol.

I feel like a Chetney is actually a soft leader of this group, he is always trying to work on plans and spent all time looking into the map.

Imogen and Laudna have talked, finally! I almost lost hope, that it's not gonna happen this time around, because it dragged for so long, however they both acknowledge that. And it probably the most slowest of slow burns that I saw in ages. I 99% sure that Imogen is pining romanticaly, look that she gave to Chetney when he talked about Laudna's magnetism, her unwillingness to give Ira a "Hi", all this tension and careful way of choosing a words diring their talk. Not sure about Laudna, she obviously love Imogen platonically and will do anything for her, but is she feel anything beyond that? Probably, we need "Imogen near deathbed" or "Imogen's suitor" situation to figure this out. But I understand why Imogen was playing safe - they are going to a Suicide mission and the less distruction they have, the better.

Regarding this mission they have - I really don't know how it will go. They gonna bring heavy guns with them, like Ira or Keyleth with Ashari, but concidering how high stakes for that mission, I don't really know that all will be alive by end of it. And if for some reason they are not able to stop whatever Otohan and Ludinus are doing, FCG and Laudna existence is actually under big question mark, since their main source of life is magic...

[astralleywright]

okay i thought you hated dorian for some reason so dorian. now im curious

oh no not at all!! I-well, lets talk about it!

First impression

i'll be real, i too thought he was a spoiled soft clown. Ashton clocked both me and themself with that one. i enjoyed watching him a lot because Robbie Daymond is perhaps the most likeable person on the planet, but Dorian's concept as a runaway prince and the broad socially awkward niceness that was the broad strokes of his personality were simply Not My Thing, especially in a campaign that appealed to me because of all the characters being NPC-types and also sucking. Maybe this is where the idea that I hated him came from?

Impression now

Like Ashton I have realized Dorian is not a spoiled soft clown, and like Ashton i am also sorry. Robbie's gotten more of a chance to stretch his rp muscles than he did in the first 14 of C3 (and I've gotten more of a chance to witness it), and he's so fucking good, and it would be literally impossible for me not to love Dorian because of it. And tbh the power differential he had with the other hells that bugged me from a thematic perspective is now a boon, because it acts as a good contrast that shows how even more privileged mortals can still become the playthings of the gods! yay Dorian!

Favorite moment

I mean, yeah, his speech during Spin the Bottle a few episodes ago is up there at the top, but I think it will always be the confrontation he had with Orym and Fy'ra over the crown To Me.

Idea for a story

Dorian you gotta save your girl Opal right. we're doing that right

Unpopular opinion

I mean I feel like i've already expressed some lmao. here's another; I have always found Dor/ym pretty uninteresting until the last few eps, where I now find it interesting and also dislike it 😭 Dorian PLEASE find yourself a man who will not dismiss your feelings like that and talk to you like he's your dad. I feel like that's gonna be a one off moment that's forgotten in the grand scheme of things but I'll know. I'll remember

Favorite relationship

Oh I was gonna say Double Ds and Fy'ra and Laudna and Ashton and Braius but it's Chetney. It's obviously Chetney.

Favorite headcanon

I love the interpretation of him as Native-coded (and I mean elements of that are already canon with things such as his flute)! I'm super curious to see what the Silken Squall is like

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

Druidcraft for Fearne and Orym? - ghost

@ghostofwhitestone (takes place in early exu but I also didn't watch exu lol)

After Will died, Orym didn't think he would ever make flowers again. It was their thing. Orym would braid flowers into Will's hair, leave lavender on his pillow, scatter peonies and lilacs across the dining table. Orym's flowers were always for Will.

The first time he crafts flowers for Fearne, he didn't even notice he was doing it, not until he had tucked sprigs of baby's breath into one of her pockets. Immediately he was washed over with a wave of guilt, what would Will think about him creating flowers for someone he barely knows?

"Orym?" Fearne asks, her voice soft as always. He looks up from where he's cleaning blood off his armor and finds Fearne looking at him curiously, head tipped to the side. Between her fingers, there's a sprig of lavender, one that he had left just minutes before on her bedroll. "What is this?"

"Lavender," he explains, his hands stilling on his armor. "To help you sleep."

Fearne smiles and brings it to her nose, inhaling the scent with an almost comical noise. And she sighs happily, "It smells really nice. Thank you, Orym."

"You're welcome," Orym smiles softly. She inhales the flowers again before laying down in her bedroll, putting the sprigs right under her nose. He can't help but smile softly, remembering how Will used to do the same when he couldn't sleep.

As he and Fearne grow closer and closer, the flowers come more and more. It's an odd day when Orym doesn't make her any flowers. Her hair is constantly full of them, extra bouquets tucking into her pockets.

Fearne has also gotten to know their meanings, not in specific, but what it means when Orym gives them to her. She always keeps an eye out for lavender. Lavender means he's missing Will.

Tonight when the two of them make their way up to their room in the inn, Orym is holding her hand as usual. He hops up onto the bed as Fearne drops her various things about the room and gets ready for bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him laying sprigs of lavender on the bed.

Without a second thought, Fearne jumps onto the bed and tackles Orym into a tight hug. Just like she planned, Orym laughs and tries to squirm out of her arms. She doesn't let him, just cuddles him into her chest and settles down to go to sleep.

Orym laughs a little longer before settling down as well, accepting his position crushed into his best friends' chest. Before she drifts off to sleep, she hears him whisper, "Love you, Fearne."

She smiles and just hugs him a little tighter, too exhausted to reply. But she knows he understands.

[nochi-quinn]

campaign 3 episode 66: early edition

I didn't watch any of team issylra and then I missed last week bc I was traveling so let's see how fuckin lost I am this week

(tho I skipped most of Let's Be Pirates in c2 and a chunk of c1 when I went from watching the archives to livewatching so eh)

tbh someone in a chat I'm in said BH still feel like NPCs kinda and they're…not wrong? the plot is happening TO them vs BECAUSE of them kinda thing

okay I was late bc I was reading ella enchanted to my kid

stray gods ad in the corner! god I'm so hyped for stray gods

travis looks good tonight

kiki :(

matt. say. things. OUT. LOUD. FIRST.

"only hurt him"

ahh, a nice relaxing fetch quest where certainly nothing will go wrong

once upon a forest vibes

leave orym's people aloooone

"I should be the one making the trip" keyleth istg

liam trying to find out if she also saw The Boy

she saw The Boy

forever laying in the floor about vaxleth

(someone on one of my lovm text post memes said they "just want them to be happy" and I just. bless them.)

don't out her like that orym jeeze

wait the poison ate her spell slots?? that's cheating

god I love her

"twice a year"

when we watched lovm with my roommate she asked why keyleth was wearing a pelvis on her forehead. I explained that it was antlers and it belonged to her mom and she asked why she was wearing her mom's pelvis on her head. so the diadem is ruined for me now

heading off any further fantasy religion discourse with the fact that keyleth has always been like this

tbf "the ascension and the ceiling" also works

ascended until it didn't

always good to know your insane plans worked out

"did he get raptured"

lmao the note-taking arm stretch

"you hear want you wanna hear, travis willingham"

(I wasn't looking, did they subtitle it "urine")

orym mom ORYM MOM

"what if your stuff takes a while?" found liam's mom

hobbit hole but in the side of a mountain

I love liam's face when he's having Emotions about his boys

oh my best friend from when I was a kid is named Alma, I'm prepared to do a million double-takes

orym version of the time my kid climbed under the table and onto the weird recessed buffet thing in the wall; there was no way to get around or over the table so we just had to sit there and try to negotiate with a three-year-old

flashbacks to seeing teenage photos of my partner at his grandmother's house

sam

oh no he's planted the seed

WHISPERS

did you fuck my mom, santa claus?

"whitestone is for lovers, zephrah's for fuckers"

stray gods STRAY GODS

SAM

"sorry, Q"

"rocks fall, everyone dies" pay randy millholland 5 dollars

okay I have to tap out, we've got a storm system rolling in and it's playing hell with my sinuses. I know there's about to be a bunch of combat so nobody fuckin die okay

[captainsspnanon]

C3E69 reaction

Nice.

(I am the millionth person to make that joke for this episode.)

Judging by the reactions to the recap, they took a break before this filming, maybe a week or two?

Starting off the reaction with a hot take, I'm very glad Matt described the pebbles and earth shaking due to Ashton's panic attack. I've mentioned this before, but Taliesin has for each of his PCs had them go off and have a panic attack, but never really roleplays it, or even describes it, instead just stating it. It's his RP choice, and knowing that he actually has panic attacks, may be something that he doesn't WANT to RP, but it's always bothered/disappointed me a little bit. He did the same thing, going off on his own, says he has a panic attack, and then doesn't really do anything with it, but Matt adding that description really really helped!

NEW ART NEW ART!!!! Big fan! I have figured out why I'm sliiightly off with Orym's new art, it's because that from what I can tell, if he lets his arms fully relax, the hands will reach his knees. The arms just seem a tiny bit too long to me. Aside from that, love it all!

I'm really interested to see where Ashton is going to go with their attempt at a new take of the viewpoint of their life. The outfit definitely has superhero-esque vibes, I'd be excited if he started going that way. No more real info on the titan-blood this time around, but hoping we get to the Shattered Teeth soon and get more info!

Liam being emotional, I think the length of the scene worked well. In the moment it felt a bit long, but Liam has also really been refraining from the big one on one conversations that he did with Vax and Caleb, so it didn't feel like it was taking too much space. This was the moment for Orym to really have moments focused on him.

Okay, everything about the hang-gliding scene was amazing! I REALLY need to stop looking at reddit, some people HATED this. I don't understand how, it was hysterical! Maybe slightly out of character for Laudna, it definitely had more of the Brjeaus feel, but it was so entertaining that I don't mind at all.

I'm still hit-or-miss with Delilah, sadly. Mainly because I didn't even feel that much about her in C1, especially towards the end, so I really don't have any feelings about her in C3. I want to see Laudna do something with this, though I don't have any hopes as to what. I just want SOMETHING more than ominous whispers.

...I did NOT expect Keyleth to go with them. I... don't know how I feel about it? I guess it makes sense, but I really don't want to be following the people from the other campaigns. I feel like she's just there for fast-travel at this point. When does Fearne get Transport Via Plants? 6th level spell, so normally level 11, for Fearne it will be level 12 because of the rogue level. I hope they rely on the staff more than Keyleth, but we'll see how it goes.

This entire Dancer bit just feels weird, because it REALLY feels like everyone, even Matt, forgot that we already had this entire conversation beforehand. It's very much a repeat of the emotions and conversation.

Ending with shithead....yeah. That works for this episode.

Final result - I laughed SO much this episode, and I really had a blast! Nitpicks listed above did not detract from my enjoyment at all. I'm not upset that they broke the episode 69 curse (especially because I don't really remember c1 e69, so never really registered the curse outside of the c2 episode!)

[aeoris4lovers]

i am into ashrym and would love to add onto this because i love this concept and have lots of feelings about these two:

i feel like ashton would eventually sort of give up on trying to figure out their own attraction. he explores it for a while when he realizes there might be something more there, but ultimately decides after spending more time with orym and having a moment of “if i don’t keep this halfling as close to me as possible for as long as possible i will lose my mind” that it doesn’t matter — they don’t need to know what kind of attraction that is to know that it’s real and important, and orym is the only one they’ve felt that way about anyway so they decide the specifics aren’t really relevant.

and i think that kind of relationship would be really good for orym too. because the thing is, i think orym knows that will will always be the love of his life and that he’ll never be able to feel quite that way about anyone else, and that’s part of what makes the idea of pursuing a romantic relationship so complicated for him. but his relationship with ashton wouldn’t be predicated on having a certain level of romantic feelings — ashton doesn’t even know if their feelings for him are romantic, so they would never expect that of him. they don’t expect the kind of love he had for will because the two of them have their own kind of love for each other, and that’s enough.

and they explore all of those feelings together, orym figuring out out how to reconcile his new feelings with the love he still has for will and ashton trying to reconcile his new feelings with the way he sees himself. neither of them come out of it with a nice solid answer because things are rarely that simple, but the process brings them even closer together. maybe orym gets more comfortable with something explicitly romantic over time, maybe ashton decides their feelings for orym actually are romantic, but maybe neither of them do and they just keep doing their own thing together.

in the end, they both know that they care for each other deeply, trust each other implicitly, find comfort and safety in being close to each other, and want to spend as much of their time together as they can. and that’s really all that matters to either of them, so they’re content to just love each other in the way that comes naturally to them and not worry too much about the rest.

they just call each other partners and let other people make whatever assumptions they want. are they partners because of when they hold hands or kiss or cuddle? is it because they fight side by side in battle doing badass combo moves and saving each other’s asses? or is it something else? who knows, but they sure are attached at the hip and if you talk bad about one of them, the other will kill you.

also they’re t4t. thank you for coming to my ted talk.

I’m not personally into Ashrym so this isn’t something I’ll write, but perhaps if this reaches anyone who is and wants a fun idea:

I think a really cool plot to explore would be that Ashton and FCG are like aro/ace together and for the first time, maybe Ashton realizes their preferences may be more complicated (maybe they’re demiromantic/demisexual, for example), and they have to process a new facet of their identity and sexuality and orym would help guide them through it, the precious lil guy he is. I think it could be both a really interesting character study, a chance to reflect on a personal journey of discovery, and just a really soft way for two people to grow and support each other along the way.

[demigoddessqueens]

Hello dear! I love your writing!! Lately, the idea of an oath breaker paladin who isn’t actually evil has been living in my head RENT FREE, so I have a request, if you’re willing:

How would bells hells (including Dorian) comfort a paladin that just broke their oath with a manipulative god? How would they help the reader adjust to their new lifestyle/alignment and cope with their newfound loss of direction?

Oh a conflicted paladin!! Nice idea!

Laudna - the “voice” in her head always tries to pull her in a certain direction so she can speak from experience. Noting your distress, she tries to be comforting and/or humorous with antics from Pate, trying to get you to laugh or smile about new possibilities

Imogen - knowing Laudna and herself, shifting alignments is all too familiar. She may not be the best with words but while holding your hand, you’re told that no one holds power over you and that’s the best freedom

Orym - the halfling has gone through much in life so he’s a trusted one to divulge all your grievances to. Listening, understanding, helping you through the nightmares and drying your tears.

Fearne - as chaotic as she can be, there’s still a genuineness behind her words. “Look on the bright side now, at least you’re free. You can do whatever you want now.”

Dorian - given that his alignment has canonically shifted, he knows what it feels like. He’s a good listener and when you can’t sleep some night, he’s there with a shoulder for your head to lean on

FCG - does a pat pat “there, there” and kinda like Orym, leans more into the compassionate side by reassuring you that it’s a better life now and if any being gives you trouble, the Bells are by your side

Ashton - he’s going to be his usual stating the obvious blunt self which is also the most comforting. “What the fuck is up with that? They were manipulative!!”.

Chetney - given how long he’s lived and that he’s lived life, it’s leaning more into the “tough love” routine where he gives you the facts of life but also reassures you that “hey it’s YOUR life now! Not a god’s”