#Keyleth is going to lose her parents. she’s going to lose Vox Machina. she’s going to watch her friends’ kids die.
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Vesper had been fussing all night, her cries ringing through the empty halls of the palace. Not wanting to disturb Vex, who had been sleeping peacefully next to him, Percy was the one to get up to care for their daughter. He’d always been a light sleeper anyways, and his wife needed the rest a whole lot more than he did.
In his half-awake haze, Percy barely remembered to fetch his glasses from his nightstand before he pulled himself from the warm comforts of his bed, careful not to wake Vex. He rushed through the hallways with stumbling feet, his vision still blurry from sleep. He opened the door to the nursery and winced as the noise of Vesper’s screaming got louder as he stepped into the room. “Come on now, little one,” he said as he scooped her into his arms.
He tried everything. He tried to give her the baby formula, hoping beyond all hope that she was just hungry. She wouldn’t take it.
“There’s one trait we share,” he told her. “Stubbornness. Though I had hoped that by some miracle, you’d be at least somewhat compliant.”
He rocked her back and forth, cooing soft assurances, but nothing he did seemed to appease his tiny daughter. He cringed again as her desperate shrieks continued, the sound piercing his ears.
“Well, fuck, Vesper,” he said, sitting on an armchair with her still crying in his arms, “I’m not sure what it is that you want from me.”
Vesper, who couldn’t yet understand her father’s frustration, continued to cry. Percy was on the verge of tears himself. He wasn’t like Vex, who had taken to parenthood naturally, as if it was a natural next step after the years they’d spent adventuring. Sure, he’d taken care of his little siblings when they were children, but that had been years ago, when he’d been a child himself.
And now, here he was, a grown man who couldn’t figure out how to get his infant daughter to go back to sleep.
He didn’t know what else he could possibly do, so with a sigh, he began to sing. It was hardly a lullaby, but it was a song Percy’s parents had used when he and his siblings were too fussy in the night. Some nights, it was the only thing that got them to shut up. Over the years, as he got older, the song became a constant in his life. Even in his adulthood, after he lost one family member after another, he would hum the song under his breath when he needed the comfort it brought him.
As the beginning lyrics hit her ears, Vesper stopped her wailing and looked up at him with curious eyes, as if she could understand the meaning behind the simple melody. As if she recognized the words she didn’t know yet.
“Echo of the clock tower
Footstep in the alleyway
Sweep of the wind sifting the leaves”
Percy thought of his family often. They constantly flooded his thoughts, bringing both bad and good memories of every variety. He thought of his siblings, wondering what they would have given to have the chance of the life that Percy now did. He thought of his parents, hoping to any god that would listen that he wouldn’t have to lose his children as they did.
He thought of Vox Machina: heroes who had almost reached the status of gods, torn apart by the unforgiving hand of the Raven Queen. Percy thought of his wife, the mother of his child, the love and light of his life. Vex, the woman who had once told him that she didn’t know what she was without her brother, the only one that had stood at her side throughout it all.
He thought of Keyleth, who was now the wise and brave leader of her people, how she had cried into Percy’s shoulder after everything, muttering nonsense about how much she would give for the opportunity to hold her partner in her arms again.
He thought of Vax: not quite dead but just out of reach, unable to have the life he more than deserved, the life that for some reason, Percy got in his place.
Yet another ghost to haunt him, to remind him of his many shortcomings. Another raven to watch on from his windowsill.
Percy kept singing.
“Jeweler of the spider web
Connoisseur of autumn’s opulence
Blade of lightning harvesting the sky”
He thought of the Gods, of their cruelty and their indifference towards human affairs. When it came down to it, they cared for no one and nothing but themselves. He’d seen their selfishness firsthand.
“Keeper of the small gate
Choreographer of entrances and exits
Midnight whisper traveling the wires”
He thought of the Raven Queen, the stone-cold ruler over death and fate, the god that had pried away Percy’s chances of a normal life when he was nothing but a child.
“Seducer, healer,
Deity or thief?
I will see you soon enough”
Someday, he would be able to ask her why, face to face. He would be able to look her in the eye and demand to know why he got to live instead of his mother, his father, his siblings. He would demand to know why he got to live and Vax didn’t.
He would muster the courage to ask the questions he was too afraid to find the words for now.
Vesper had fallen asleep again, nestling into Percy’s chest. As he looked down at his young daughter, he could feel his anger evaporate, turning into a soft adoration of his child, an appreciation for the life he had gained in exchange for the one he had lost all those years ago. He had built a new branch of the family he had once considered lost to history, and for that opportunity, he was eternally grateful. But did the growth compensate for the destruction that had taken place, all those years ago?
Had the Raven Queen granted Percy new life in a way that made up for the ones she had taken so mercilessly? Was it worth it, now that he had Vex, now that he had Vesper? Would anyone ever be able to fill the empty chasms that had taken up residence in Percy’s soul since he had lost everything? Could anyone ever hope to replace his parents or his brothers and sisters? Could anyone ever bring back the man Percival de Rolo could have become, if he had not been consumed by vengeance at such an early age?
His thoughts turned to each sibling that he lost. In his head, he recited each of their names in a silent chant. A promise to remember.
Julius, Vesper, Oliver, Whitney, Ludwig.
Vax’ildan, he added, after a moment’s hesitation. Yes, they weren’t actually related, but for all intents and purposes, they were brothers. There was no other way to describe their relationship, in the years they’d known each other.
“You have taken everyone I have ever dared to call a brother,” he whispered, half to himself, half to the God he knew wasn’t listening. “But you will not take my friends, my wife, my daughter. Not in the way you took them. Not in the way you took him.”
In the shadow of the rainfall
In the brief violet darkening of a sunset
But until then I pray
Watch over him
Julius. Vesper. Oliver. Whitney. Ludwig. Vax’ildan.
Watch over him
As the mountain guards it’s covert ore
And the harsh falcon
It’s flightless young
“You had better protect him,” he continued, “Because if I get there, and I find him to be anything less than the absolute pain in the ass he was in life, you and I are going to have a real fucking problem.”
And with those final words to the wretched goddess of death, he let himself fall asleep again, his beloved daughter safely curled into his chest.
—
Vex awoke to an empty bed, which wasn’t entirely a rare occasion, so she didn’t think much of it. With a groan and a great effort, she sat upright and padded through the hallways to check on Vesper.
She froze with her hand on the doorknob when she heard the sound of Percy’s soft snores coming from the inside of the nursery. As carefully as she could, she cracked the door open and stepped inside.
Percy sat slumped on the armchair, mouth hanging open and glasses crooked on his nose, his arms wrapped around Vesper, who slept peacefully. Vex laughed softly to herself at the sight, about to close the door again when she caught a flutter of black somewhere in her periphery.
Her eyes followed the movement to the windowsill, where a raven sat, watching.
#percy de rolo#percival fredrickstein von musel klossowski de rolo iii#percival de rolo#critical role#cr campaign one#perc’ahlia#vesper elaina de rolo#vex’ahlia#vox machina#crit role
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c3e36 - vox machina and the lady of whitestone
in this week's meta, we break down the appearances of FOUR (four!!!) members of vox machina in campaign 3, five if you count trinket, and what makes them all so different, and how this episode was, in a great, beautiful way, a love letter to vex'ahlia.
now, originally, i think we all probably thought that keyleth would be at the center of all of this, as she naturally has the best connection with bell's hells and orym. i anticipated her being a strong advocate for laudna because of her perspective and relationship with orym- and didn't really see her pushing the "we owe her because of the sun tree" angle as hard as other vm characters would have.
but also, it makes so much sense for matt to call keyleth away. this stops her from becoming too much of bell's hells' advocate and benefactor than she already is, as orym's leader.
not to mention the fact that whitestone is, ultimately, vex's and percy's and pike's, and playing keyleth in a space that really isn't hers and not her authority is an awkward power balance for sure. and it's hard enough playing multiple de rolos and pike in the same episode.
though i did love the beautiful nods to her, that we did get- her cloak trailing beauty everywhere she walked was such a great touch. and her rambling awkwardness while spouting all of the things she was dealing with? perfection.
that being said:
1. i think keyleth the most difficult impersonation.
2. our lady pike trickfoot is just such a light every time she appears. plus, it was nice to see her again, and see how comfortable matt was playing her.
i think pike was a necessary appearance. you need a little bit of a brighter character (in the happiness sense) to balance out just how Edgy both of the de Rolo parents can be, and without keyleth, pike is the perfect balance to them.
that being said.
at the end of all this, the most beautiful part of the storytelling in this episode was vex.
was it also amazing to see percy? yes, but, to quote my friend, "i forgot vox machina are condescending assholes," and percy is no different [lovingly].
his reactions, while completely justified given his history and the future he's built for himself and his people, was also just that.
but vex?
this was so much a love letter to her, and her journey with grief, and her journey with everything that happened in campaign 1.
laudna died for her. she died and was mutilated to look like her. and watching bell's hells grieve for this woman, and despite the danger doing everything in her power to help them? going against percy, spending thousands of gold and diamonds?
how could she not.
in the end, it was never a debate, was it? what vex's perspective would be?
if she could spend all the money in the world to get her brother back, don't you think she would? don't you think that she sees herself in bell's hells, in the grief written all over their faces?
fix him, she can remember grog shouting. and sobbing over her husband's body. and waking up cold and shivering on the floor of the raven queen's temple.
and after all that, how could she say no?
and what makes her different form percy? there's the obvious, that laudna was her representation on the sun tree. but at the core- her heart is so good.
all her money tendencies was because she worried that she couldn't care for everyone in her life. all of her standoffishness was because she couldn't bear feeling like she was losing her brother to keyleth.
and she has lost so much. she lost the person who was her world (percy has lost people, too, but there's something still so visceral about her loss that still sticks with me even now).
she is so perceptive.
how could she not see the desperation on their faces? the heavy burden on imogen's shoulders?
the feathers in her hair are black.
not teal.
and i think that was all the clues that we needed to know that vex would never let whitestone abandon laudna.
#laudna#cr spoilers#critical role spoilers#critical role#vex'ahlia#vex'ahlia de rolo#percival de rolo#pike trickfoot#keyleth#campaign 3#critical role meta
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Have you ever done an AU of what if the starting pairs were different? Like if Laudna found FCG instead somehow, or Chet had been in EXU crew with Orym?
I've seen a brief fic where Fearne and Ashton were a starting pair (because Fearne pulled him out of Hexum's courtyard and Ashton ended up with flower filled cracks instead of gold), so FCG got thrown in with Orym and Dorian (it just went to initial Bells Hells meetup), but I can't say I've given that sort of thing much thought myself before (besides the slight Ruby Hells AU reorganization), so...
Partner Swap AU
Bells Hells starting mini-groups are organized differently.
Ashton & Dorian
That time Dorian got his purse stolen in Jrusar? It was Ashton. There was absolutely no fucking way that fancy-pants blue boy couldn't afford to lose his coin
Except the next day, they see him performing on the street as a simple bard, and when they pass by again later, Ashton sees some thugs trying to take everything the guy's got because they're not satisfied with Dorian's earnings for the day
Feeling kind of bad that he put Dorian in that situation, Ashton steps in, kicks ass (with some help because Dorian is not completely helpless, just a bit clueless), and somehow ends up taking the other genasi under his wing
Look, the blue boy is just so clueless and anxiety ridden that the suppressed sibling instincts kick in
And Dorian is so lost in this big, strange world outside the Silken Squall that another genasi, even a surly earth one, is a comfort (even if Ashton is an asshole and a criminal. Please stop involving me in your crimes. Please. Never!)
Orym & FCG & Laudna
Dancer, FCG, and the Division of Public Benefit manage to adventure their way out of Marquet, and instead set off FCG's murder-mode somewhere in Tal'Dorei
Laudna just sort of stumbles upon the scene by accident, but FCG is conscious and greets her. They talk, becoming fast little friends, and Laudna takes them with her (which isn't easy because FCG is probably a little heavier than her and their wheel is bent out of shape)
With some collaborative work between Laudna's fixer-upper skills and FCG's basic knowledge of automata (and a little bit of input from Delilah on advanced arcana) they get him back in working order
Laudna and FCG become part of the Crown Keepers alongside Orym (Laudna gives Opal advice on making goo work)
Laudna may not have put together Keyleth being part of Vox Machina by the time her, Orym, and FCG bounce through Zephrah for marching orders to Marquet
Fearne & Chetney
Fuzzy be(a)sties!
Morri gave Fearne a little more direction than just shoving her through Artagan's Gate, instead directing her to head to Marquet to find her parents
Somehow, Fearne and Chetney end up on the same ship to Marquet (maybe Artagan's Gate wasn't the fey rift Fearne was sent through? or a layover in Tal'Dorei for a ship from Wildemount to Marquet)
Anyways, the two chaos gremlins make eyes at each other, possibly some pickpocketing (at least by Fearne to Chet, not sure if he steals back), and decide to keep going together since Marquet is a big place and Fearne doesn't actually know where her parents are to be found beyond that
Imogen
Finally got sick of Gelvaan and decided to hop a caravan (circus?) out of town. At least strangers won't look at her funny until she actually does or says something
Heard about the Starpoint Conservatory in Jrusar and decided looking for research/answers to her powers was as good an idea as any
Runs into the same lack of clout problem to gain access, and ends up running with the Hells to get Lord Eshteross's patronage
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🧑🍼 for your Keyleth as a mother to Ashton idea.
Keyleth, their birth was a bittersweet because Vax couldn't be there. Percy and Vex were there to support her doing the birth. She ripped out some floofs from Trinket's fur and sprained Percy's knuckle.
They're around the same age as Vesper.
When they're old enough to realize why Father is gone, the visits from ravens to Keyleth mean that he's always watching over them. But to Lex/Shaun/Ashton, they just want their dad -- not what they see as empty.
Ashton is wowed by their mama's use of all the elements. They like to jump in the leaves with her, watch the cherry blossoms fall in spring, and fall asleep counting the stars in a tent made of bark.
They want mom to use her Earth Elemental/Water elemental forms just to hear the silly garbled voices.
They don't like mom's chocolate almond bark. (She uses real edible tree bark) and they'll be just be way too honest about it, but not rude.
Keyleth tries to have her dad, Scanlan, and Percy almost be that fatherly support system, and they're present as much as they can be, but they also have duties/their own kids. Ashton really bonds with Uncle Grog. He helps them with this pent up anger over dad being gone. Much to Keyleth's dismay, Grog gives Ashton their first war hammer.
Keyleth was a bit nervous to hold her own baby, but Vex often reminded her just to breathe, darling. You've got this.
When Ashton throws a tantrum about Mom having to visit other Ashari villages, she reminds him -- "No matter how far I'll go, you can always find a way to be at my side, my little love." And she gives him multiple plants for sending messages.
Ashton loves music, and Keyleth can't sing a single note on pitch at all. But they appreciate that mama tried. They like hearing Uncle Scanlan go all heavy metal in his many concerts.
Vesper and the twins brag about Charlie. To which Ashton replies with their tongue out, "Oh, yeah, well my mama's Minxie/ She's the bestest!"
They learn their first curse word from Uncle Percy, which comes out during mama's visits to Pyrah, but the fire Ashari all thought it was funny.
Keyleth never gets over losing Vax, but she never feels like a single parent because of Vox Machina.
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Erin could you tell me the moments in CR history you cried at? For me personally was it was Scanlan leaving, Vex and Vax's talk after the attack on Emon, Molly's funeral, Keyleth reuniting with her mom, and last episode when Yasha was describing her meeting Molly for the first time.
Ooh this is a fun ask! I cry over everything... so I’ll try to limit this to the ones that were like really crying instead of just getting teary-eyed. (P.S. I cried writing this list. Multiple times lol. Vox Machina gives me lots of emotions, okay?)
Campaign 1:
Vox Machina Spoilers
when Vex died and it was the first death we’d seen in the campaign. This was actually the first thing I cried over when I was watching the show for the first time and I thought I was safe, but this hit and NOPE. I was a sobbing mess.
Craven Edge sucks out Grog’s soul and everyone panics and Pike’s freaking out and Scanlan is saying please over and over again. “I love him as much as you do.”
Vex and Vax talking to their dad again. (For personal reasons, their whole thing with him has always hit hard for me.)
Saundor talking to Vex
when they find Tiberius. It’s more reactive crying for me, but they’re all so upset and it makes me upset.
The HDYWTDT on Ripley
Percy’s resurrection ritual. Also Kerrek’s letter to Keyleth.
Grog yelling “Fix him.” when he sees Scanlan’s died during the Raishan fight and I’m actually crying right now just thinking about it lol
just the whole Scanlan resurrection ritual
Scanlan leaving
Vax’s resurrection ritual after the kraken fight
Keyleth being named the Voice of the Tempest
Tary talks to his dad
Scanlan comes back
Vax is Disintegrated while Vex is unconscious and she doesn’t know what happened to her brother while everyone is frantically trying to gather up his ashes and his armor before they get the fuck away from Vecna and Delilah and the Death Knight
That conversation between Vax and the Raven Queen when he makes a deal to come back long enough to defeat Vecna
Scanlan getting Ioun’s blessing
Pike getting Sarenrae’s blessing
Vex getting Pelor’s blessing
Scanlan using his 9th level spell to Counterspell and then Sam losing it at the table for five minutes and crying. “That was gonna save Vax.” And then Liam is crying and he and Marisha are holding hands and Laura’s staring over at Sam and Joe Manganiello has no idea what’s going on lol
The HDYWTDT on Vecna
Vax fading into snowdrops
When Scanlan uses his LAST WISH to bring Vax to Vex’s wedding for a few minutes and Vax gets to talk to Vex and Keyleth.
Campaign 2:
I’ve cried a lot less during this campaign, which is super weird, but I think a lot of that has to do with it being still being actively live. Campaign one’s list is in episode order and this one is not.
Molly’s death
When Jester asks “Where’s Molly?”
When they visit Molly’s grave and even though Ashley’s not there, the way Matt plays that and then Yasha walks off? Pain.
Beau talking to her parents
Jester talking to the Gentleman when he finally admits that he’s her father
“The creature is not willing” and Ashley’s face at that line.
Fjord throwing his sword into the lava
Melora accepting Fjord as her paladin
Beau and Jester freaking out when Fjord dies
The dream where Yasha breaks the chains
EDIT: I somehow forgot that I had a mini cry breakdown when they finally got to Essek again in Aeor. The relief and feeling of finally being safe for a minute??
The moral of this list is that it does not take much to make me cry. Because I only listed the times actual tears were falling, not just the times that I got misty-eyed, which happens at least every other episode.
#critical role#vox machina#the mighty nein#i cry very little about real life things#but i cry ALL THE TIME over fiction#jackalman18#erin answers things
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WORTH IT.
Read it on AO3
You always knew this day would come. In fact, you knew you had many of them ahead of you. And yet, when your necklace starts glowing, you feel the dread creeping up, the fear of finding out who's turn it was.
As if she could hear you, Pike's broken voice comes through in your mind: "Kiki, it's Grog. Please, come to Whitestone".
As quickly as you could, you let your father know, open up a portal, and you're out of the Sun Tree. Vex'ahlia, tears in her eyes, and Percy, holding her by the shoulders, are waiting for you there.
You hug them both tight, and you head to Sarenrae's temple, where Pike and Scanlan are standing beside a lifeless Grog.
He looks peaceful. His hulking form isn't menacing with his eyes closed, and his mouth so relaxed. It was time.
You let a few tears fall, hold the gnomes, and you have a small service for the goliath.
You then head to a tavern and drink his beloved ale in his honor, reminiscing of all the good times.
"To Grog Strongjaw, Grand Poobah de Doink of All This and That" a slightly drunk Percy shouts "a great fighter and an even greater friend!"
"To Grog!" You all cheer.
Just as the day begun, it comes to a close. You're all tipsy, and teary eyed. You say your goodbyes and head back to Zephrah, your heart a little heavy.
You carve a space for a cup of ale next to the shrine to the Raven Queen, and head to sleep.
//
A few years go by, you visit Whitestone from time to time, get to see all the De Rolos grow up, share a knowing smirk with Percy when Cassandra finally introduces her girlfriend to all of you.
You participate to all the great events, the weddings, the births, the tearful final goodbyes to your allies.
Allura introduces you and the Tal'Dorei council to a group of colorful individuals from Wildemount, called the Mighty Nein (but there's eight of them? No one says it but you all think it), who apparently had saved the World and managed to let it go undetected.
You recognize them from your mother's stories, they are the ones who brought her back to you.
You thank them profusely, and you catch the redhead wizard blush as the white haired drow next to him smiles and rubs his shoulder, and stifle laughter knowingly when you see the dark skinned woman, the pale and tall one who was holding her hand and the blue tiefling all looking at Vex with their mouth open. The yellow clad halfling smacks them subtly as their half orc friend politely smiles at all of you.
It's funny, you knew the feeling of being caught staring at Vex'ahlia very well.
You see Percy grow a beard that makes him look older and cheer loudly alongside Vesper when with an excited "Auntie Keyleth, look!" she druidcrafts a snowdrop in her hands.
//
A few years later, as you're tending to the needs of your people, the necklace pulsates again. You have a suspicion this time, and your heart clenches.
Coming out of the Sun Tree once again, you can see the whole atmosphere is somber. Black flags with the Whitestone crest glowing gold wave in the breeze, falling from the Castle's large windows.
You lean against the Tree that's become like a friend to you.
"Hey, Keyleth. It's quite the sad day. I can feel the grief of the whole city in my roots."
Tears fall and you ask what you already know.
"It's Percy,isn't it?"
"It is. You might want to go to Lady Vex. I know she might need you."
You find them once again, gathered in the temple. The De Rolos are surrounding their mother, who's sobbing loudly. You'd seen her this broken only once before, for her brother.
Only this time, it was your brother, laying limp and quiet, with Pike performing the last rites.
You see Taryon held by Lawrence in the large crowd, but you make a beeline to Vex.
"Mom, aunt Keyleth is here," Vesper whispers.
Trinket is next to her of course, whining in pain too.
Vex'ahlia opens her bloodshot eyes, looks at you briefly and runs into your arms.
You feel her pain, all of it. You try to convey everything you can in that hug.
I'm here. I know. I feel it too. I've felt it too. She holds you like you're the last thing keeping her standing. And you hold her like she held you many years before.
Drinks are had, words and stories are shared. You decide to stay at the Castle one more night, you let Korrin know through Pike.
Everything goes quiet. In the dead of night, you hear a knock at the door of your guest room. You already know who's going to be on the other side, and yet when you open it and the dim candles show a shattered Vex'ahlia, her cheeks wet with tears, her eyes sunken with exhaustion, your heart aches.
"Keyleth..." she says with a barely audible whisper.
No more words are needed. You let her fall into your arms, and hold her through the night, let her sob in your arms until she passes out.
Eventually, you fall asleep too.
Vex gives you the raven skull you made for him before you leave, and you make sure to place it next to the mug of ale, with a pocket watch.
//
Years keep passing by, you see Vesper's magic thrive and see the proud look in her mother's eyes. You know you must share that same look. You see her become every bit of the leader Percy was, with her mother's wits and her father's strong willpower.
//
Eventually you have to go to Deastock and say goodbye to Taryon, that's another hard hit on Vex. He was her best friend.
This time you carve the logo of his Brigade in what has become the Vox Machina tree in Zephrah.
//
You and Vex grow closer. She reminds you of him in so many ways, and yet she's so different. A few wrinkles are starting to appear near her eyes, but as you keep observing her, she's never been more beautiful.
Many things start to become usual occurrences, like you visiting the Castle, and her coming to Zephrah with the help of her daughter.
Everytime you see each other, it seems like the pieces start falling back together.
One day, as regular as any other, you're watching the sun setting on your tribe and you catch her looking at you intensely.
"You're so beautiful, darling."
You're taken aback. She doesn't give you time to reply. Without even being able to register it, her mouth is on yours, and her hand is in your hair.
You'd lie if you said you hadn't ever dreamed of this.
Suddenly, she stops, touching her lips in shock "Keyleth, I'm so-" this time you cut her off, shaking your head and catching her sorry with your mouth.
You're not sorry. You're glad she did that. You would have never had the guts to make the first move. And Gods, her lips are so soft, her hands tangle in your hair and you don't know what to do, but bask in the comfort her body pressed against yours gives you.
She must be feeling something similar, cause her breath becomes shallow as she whispers "Key" in between kisses.
That night you make love and it's sweet, and calm and slow, nothing like you thought Vex would be. You both needed this so bad, you know you've loved her for a long time and if only an ounce of her felt the same, you'd be happy with it.
Waking up next to her is nothing short of magical. She's peacefully sleeping, her dark, naked back warmly lit by the sunrise creeping in. You softly brush your fingers along her spine, and her eyelids flutter to reveal warm hazel irises, looking at you with a small smile. Your breath catches.
"I love you," you whisper, unable to keep it in anymore.
Her smile widens. She kisses you and your heart races fast when she says "I love you too, Keyleth," brushing your noses together.
You feel happier than you've been in a long time.
//
Life goes on between Zephrah and Whitestone, you both have responsibilities you can't run from.
You say your last goodbyes to Allura, and shortly after Kima, who are buried together as they always asked.
//
Once Vesper is ready to take the helms of Whitestone, Vex decides that it's maybe time to leave, not without hesitation.
"Mom, go. I get it,okay? We will visit all the time, you won't even have time to miss us".
Vex gives her a teary laugh, kisses her forehead, and with an "I'm so proud of you" she comes to Zephrah with you.
Korrin and Vilya treat her like their own, and you look at her in adoration when she tells you they're like the parents she always wanted.
//
Vesper keeps her promise, and the De Rolos come visit all the time. You don't catch when Percy IV, their youngest, calls you mama, but Vex does and maybe sheds one little happy tear.
Zephrah is always buzzing with life, thriving under Keyleth's leadership, and Vex's advice.
//
Their necklaces glow once more, and they know it's time to say goodbye to Scanlan this time.
Kaylie plays a sorrowful piece in honor of her father, as you and Vex hold Pike. They both know what it's like to lose a soulmate.
As always you gather in the tavern and share stories of Scanlan the bard.
"He died as he lived," Kaylie raises her cup "hard and fast!"
You all share a teary laugh and get drunk as you say goodbye to another friend.
You show Vex the Vox Machina tree for the first time in years, as you carve a space for a miniature shawm.
She holds you as you both look at the Raven Queen's shrine.
"I hope they're all together," Vex whispers. "I hope he doesn't hate me for this," she chuckles and kisses your cheek.
Just as she says that, as if out of nowhere, a large raven lands between you two on Vex's shoulder. It nuzzles her.
"I guess you have your answer," you smile and scratch the top of the raven's head. It leans in your hand.
//
Life goes on, the kids aren't kids anymore, Vesper leads Whitestone fiercely, you say goodbye to Gilmore a couple of years after Allura and Kima, but you have each other to lean on.
//
One day, Vex feels too tired to get out of bed and Trinket lets out a long groan.
You quickly message Pike, who comes to Zephrah with the children.
She does a quick scan of her body and confirms what you already know.
There's nothing wrong with your Vex, nature is claiming her. It's time to say goodbye.
A sob wracks your body, you knew it was coming. You saw the wrinkles getting more prominent and her hair going gray with the passing of years, but it still hurt to know.
You can never be ready.
You let the kids say their goodbyes, not wanting to intrude on such an intimate moment.
When your turn comes you try to be strong, but your heart is in too much pain.
She lays a hand on your now wet cheek, and strokes it with her thumb, wiping away some tears. "Kiki..." her flebile whisper is full of love.
"I don't know if I can do this without you,too".
"Of course you can. You're strong, and caring, and kind. Your people rely on you. You don't need me to succeed. I will always love you, Key. I will always be with you. Far, but never gone, remember?"
You kiss her hand.
"I love you. You're every bit as beautiful as the day I first met you."
You lean over her to kiss her lips, and with a smile, she lets out her last breath.
You can't help but hold onto her a little longer.
Trinket plops down next to you and lays his head on Vex's stomach, breathing heavily.
You know he must be close as well.
You clutch his fur, as he breathes one last time, too.
All the kids and Pike kneel down to hold you, and together, you mourn the loss of Lady Vex'ahlia.
You take her blue feathers, tie them on your staff, with the black ones you had from Vax.
In the tree, you leave the tip of an arrow, and one of the pink bows you and Vax once put on the bear.
//
The De Rolos go back to Whitestone, Pike spends some days with you.
It will take a long time to heal, but you have plenty of that.
You'll outlive them all, it's your tragic destiny, you signed up for it. It doesn't hurt any less.
//
Pike is of course the next one to go, the worshippers of the Everlight all gather to say goodbye to her Champion, you look around and see just how many lives Pike's kindness had touched. It's beautiful.
Your tree has another spot, with the symbol of Sarenrae and a miniature mace.
//
You carve one last spot on the tree, that you know won't be filled for many years still.
You leave instructions for your antlers to placed there.
//
You're thankful to have your parents by your side, as the days blur together.
Eventually you feel happiness again, when Vesper brings her firstborn to you and you get to see new life blossom in every corner of your tribe, the Ashari growing and leaning on you, the love on your mother's face and the pride on your father's.
//
Years, and years, and years pass but you never forget them, not once, not for a second.
Vax'ildan, with his smirk and his daggers, and his wings that held you in safety. Your first love. Forever and ever and always.
Vex'ahlia, matching smirk on softer lips, the best of hagglers, witty and beautiful and quick with her arrows. The lover you got to keep. The lover that got you through.
Percival, your very best friend, your brother and partner in crime, a quick draw, the smartest of you. A loving husband and father, a fierce leader.
Grog, big and strong with a heart of gold, with his smile and fun in fights and taverns, his gentle hands with small creatures. Not the smartest, but still one who thought you so much.
Scanlan, the embodiment of fun and laughter, always ready to pick everyone up and help out, cheering and inspiring with his voice and his charm.
Pike, the kindest of spirits, her heart bigger than her small frame could ever contain, sweet and loving like a mother to all.
Taryon, flamboyant and fun, with his desire to be accepted and his mind full of ideas, always accompanied by his thousands versions of Doty, faithful companion.
Trinket, friend of Vox Machina, her Vex's best friend, as much of a member as everyone else.
You never forget any of them. You feared it would happen after meeting Sprigg, it felt like looking in a mirror of your future.
But you keep them in your heart until you're old and gray, tell your stories to your tribe, make sure they are spread across the world so that Vox Machina may never be forgotten.
As you close your eyes for the last time, you dream of them and hope that the Raven Queen will be kind enough to let you see them once more.
//
On the other side, what you see surprises you. It's them, all of them. Vax, with his wings spread, in the middle, smiling bright. Vex is next to him, looking like the day you met. None of them is old and gray. Percy's hair is even black, rid of the stress and weight of the world.
Pike's hair is black as well, like the day you first called her to help you with Grog.
Everyone looks young, and happy. You feel yourself crying. As you look down, you notice your hair are long and flowing, a fierce red.
"You did so well, princess." Vex'ahlia winks at you, and you suddenly feel surrounded by all your family's arms.
You smile in the cuddle pile, think back to your adventures, and realize that everything was worth it, after all.
#vox machina#vexleth#i made some people cry on twitter and thought#eh why not do it on tumblr too#vex'ahlia#keyleth#critical role#cr fic#vm fic
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keyleth
& modern hcs .
keyleth’s usernames are : callmekiki ( instagram ); leavesnashes ( tumblr ); kikiasher ( snapchat ); earthwindandkiki ( twitch ) and savethekeyfish ( twitter )
she can play acoustic guitar, having learned to when she was twelve –– she has one in her apartment that’s carved with maple leaf designs
her parents have been happily in love and married for over thirty years together; vilya never left and got lose out somewhere, so keyleth was lucky to always have her mom around
she’s from a small, small town ( think, population 7000 ) in the middle of colorado, so she’s still as inexperienced, naive and awkward as keyleth is in the campaign when she leaves town to go to college and eventually moves to a big city to stay close to vox machina
keyleth is a wiccan and is very open about being so; she’s also a vegan, mostly for ethical reasons, and as a by-product of being wiccan.
in college, she goes for a major in environmental studies with a minor in social justice, and over her college career she goes from this more awkward and people-pleasing figure to someone who is a bit more confident and inspiring as a leader figure to others
after graduating, she gets a shared apartment with pike across town from vex and vax’s apartment. she also adopts a cat ( a bengal mix ) she calls minxie.
also in college, keyleth gets her nipples pierced, as well as her belly button ring. she’s also not one to wear bras often #freethenipple.
in terms of pop culture and the media she consumes, her favorite things are : lofi videos on youtube; the lush store; ridiculous reality shows like the circle and big brother; musicians like dodie, billie eilish, khalid and bon iver.
keyleth’s modern style tends to fluctuate, but it’s somewhere between cottagecore and hippie vibes –– she wears a lot of sweaters, long floral dresses, peasant skirts and totes with diagrams of birds and leaves on them. she likely goes thrifting often and hates fast fashion, so she makes her own slogan tees that say silly things like “bee your best self” with a doodle of a bee next to it. she’s a big fan of bangles, crystals and overalls too, and likely has a canvas bag with tons of patches on it from all the places she’s been so far.
when it comes to tattoos, keyleth has all her usual ink, as well as other ones she gets all over her arms –– mandala designs and feathers and other flora and fauna.
she does stream three times a week on her twitch channel ( earthwindandkiki ), and two of those days are spent streaming stardew valley and animal crossing –– the other day depends on what game series she’s currently playing, but it’s probably an indie game like gris or oxenfree.
#to be updated as I think of more hcs but !!!#I love my girl#❛ 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 . 🍁 study.#❛ 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 . 🍁 verse two.
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I am just thinking about how Vox Machina would react to the Mighty Nein. Like imagine they pop over to Deastock to visit Tary for a 30 year reunion or some shit and he starts telling them about this band of idiots making a name for themselves in the Empire. Of course Vox Machina can't leave Wildemount without seeing this for themselves, for the nostalgia of it all, and manage to track down the Mighty Nein in the streets of Zadash.
I feel like Grog would take one look at Yasha's whole goth warrior thing she's got going on and IMMEDIATELY challenge her to a fight and while she's stumbling through her answer there's Beau, fists up, ready to throw down all like 'babe is this guy bothering you.' Scanlan would smoothe it out and they'd go for drinks and Grog would take them both on in a fighting pit and probably lose because a Monk/Barbarian melee combo is so deadly but he'd love every minute of it and they'd all get drunk with Scanlan after.
Pike and Veth would hit it off instantly, bonding over being the mom friends, and end up furiously making button friendship bracelets in the corner of the bar.
Percy would take one look at Caleb and be like 'is anyone going to adopt this brilliant tortured soul' and then not wait for an answer. Ten seconds later they're a mile deep in conversation with one of his guns dismantled in front of them, collaborating on mixing magic and weaponry and sensing a deeper pain in each other that they resonate with but of course need not discuss. The gun would draw Veth's attention and she'd amble over and make fun of them with Tary, while her new best friend Pike goes over to get drunk with Grog and co but runs into Fjord on the way who is silently watching his friends and immediately finds a way to make him laugh. They'd get to talking about his background and she'd regale him with stories of her time on the sea during her recovery from being brought back to life while he recounted memories from his past with Vandran's crew that he'd never told anyone before.
Vex would be rattled at first by the force of Jester's personality but amused by her mischief and chaotic nature. There's something about her that reminds Vex of Garmelie from the Feywild, probably because of the dick she absently scratches into a table while they're talking, and she loses herself in reminiscing for awhile until she tunes back into the conversation just as Jester is talking about the tragic romance between her parents. It makes her smile, knowing this source of joy and light still has her family unlike so many of Vox Machina.
Meanwhile at the end of the table Keyleth and Caduceus immediately bond over their connections to Melora and are definitely concocting a spiked tea with the various bits of hallucinogenic fruit he still has and the mushrooms he collected somewhere on the way.
Vex would be the one to figure out who exactly the blue Tiefling's god is... and their reactions? Now that's a story for another time
#critical role#long post#meta#vox machina#the mighty nein#vox machina x the mighty nein#molly and Vax are probably hanging out in the afterlife#this is before rumblecusp tho cuz they know keyleths mom#and i forgot to include that
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This is coming from a place of genuine confusion....but why does a sect of the fandom dislike Marisha so much?? Like, I haven't seen it for ANY of the other players. Is it a "wife/girlfriend of the DM" complex, because I've seen that before. Idk, I don't get it, and no amount of googling has made me understand lol.
yeahhhhhhh
okay, to preface, i absolutely disagree with all of the marisha hate, i think she's a great player and is really unfairly treated
but a couple reasons why this tends to be a thing:
1) just plain old regular misogyny, yeah. all the girls on cr get it to an extent, but it's stronger with marisha - the idea that dnd is inherently a man's game and therefore no woman could be good at it is pervasive even in this fandom, not outright, but in subtle things, like how people give the guys a lot more leeway to do dumb shit than the girls, and on dnd posts in the past i've seen comments like "this reads like how laura and marisha would describe dnd while their husbands facepalm in the background", which like... isn't really harmful on the surface, but i have a hard time imagining matt and especially travis ever facepalming at their wives genuine ideas? like if it's obviously meant to be something ridiculous and not taken seriously, sure, but otherwise, that subtle implication that they see travis as a better player than laura is just way off. (and matt has more dnd experience than marisha but like... she's still a very good player)
2) the keyleth instinct. so here's the thing about campaign one and the characters they chose to play - the majority of the cast played within their comfort zone. they branched out a lot for c2, and obviously they as people aren't identical to their vox machina counterparts, but they're not too far away either. liam's stated he irl would be a rogue, taliesin likes playing intelligent edgy teenage assholes bc he was one, laura is a bit more goofy than vex but she still thinks a lot the same, scanlan is very sam, travis is obviously a lot smarter than grog but he still fell very in line with the kind of character travis is comfortable playing and the things he wants to explore.
but marisha chose a character in campaign one who was completely the opposite of her natural self. marisha is confident and very take no shit and a natural leader, keyleth is awkward and shy and doubts herself and overthinks things and has really bad luck in basically everything she ever tries. and people watched campaign one and assumed all of those traits were just the way marisha was. if you aren't drawn to keyleth as a character, it's relatively easy to find ways to hate her (which again circles back to the misogyny a bit). they see keyleth constantly fuck up due to awkwardness and think "marisha doesn't know how to play the game". they see keyleth be a mess of a person socially and think "wow marisha's not a very good actor if she can't handle this", completely ignoring the fact that she is acting very well and it's proven by the fact that they think keyleth is marisha
(and while she still gets hate as either character, the keyleth hate was far worse than the beau hate)
3) people just, not getting what she's doing. i wasn't in the fandom for the early days of cr2, but i have friends who were, and they've said there were circles of the fandom where everything marisha did was in question, even people not believing beau was a lesbian when it's made obvious in episode one, because what if she's doing it on purpose as a scam? and like, to broaden that a bit, i think marisha's characters and their decisions get misread a lot. i personally happen to find both beau and keyleth very relatable, so i usually get where they're coming from (mostly, bowlgate i was more on caleb's side there, but i still don't think she deserves hate for it), but to people who don't, or just haven't put effort into trying to understand marisha's characters, then between keyleth's awkwardness and beau's abrasiveness i think the majority of what they pick up from marisha's characters is negative
which is a shame, because they're both really good, well thought out, interesting characters.
4) this is going into my own meta for a bit, but, something i've found about marisha's characters is they're quite down to earth and very easily the viewpoint character of the group, in a way? like obviously it's an ensemble cast, but like... let's take keyleth. campaign one starts and ends with her. the very first adventure is triggered by her leaving home for the first time, to start her aramente. she's led a sheltered life up to this point, she doesn't know the world she's walking into - so we learn about this fantasy world at the same time she does. she has the most linear and easy to follow development, her aramente spans most of the story, and once it's done things only get more centered on her. she's now a leader of her people, she's fulfilled her destiny, but that means she lives so long all her worst fears are coming true - that she'll have to spend the rest of her life alone. how did we learn this was her biggest fear? because she's been scared since the start of losing vax, but the reason she has him at all is she resolved to not let that fear control her. and then as the endgame comes in, she suddenly has to face that head on. vax has a week left to live. barely two days after, they run into sprigg - someone who lived so long after all his friends died that he's lost himself, forgotten them, become a hermit of a person who's just living because he's got nothing better to do - everything keyleth believes she will become, and fears so much. but he proves she can still choose to remember them, and choose to live in their absence, not just survive. keyleth is the one who seals away vecna, who's grown so much in her power since that little scared druid girl, she can banish a god. and our story ends with her, and her father, and a raven - she's moving on, she's living, she's thriving, but she'll never forget.
if i was gonna write out vox machina's story as a novel, there is no character who would better suit being the protagonist than her
it's a bit less strong with beau, but she's still one of the more relatable characters, she's a human, who had a rebellious teenage years because of shitty overbearing parents, she's not a magic user, she's from the country we start in (and doesn't have a dark dangerous mystical secret like caleb and veth), a lot of the big turning points in the story have had her take the lead, it's the relative mundanity that gives a contrast to and lifts up the others, while still being a highly interesting character in her own right. beau is a grounding force of the mighty nein.
i personally like those kinds of characters, but i've noticed in almost all fandoms with a main character and then a group of side characters, the main character is rarely anyone's fave, overlooked in favour more (subjectively) interesting side characters, but then because the story puts the focus on the main character, people get sick of them and start to hate them? and in this form of storytelling, there is no main character, but people sorta do that to those kinds of characters anyway. and in addition to all the other marisha stuff, that probably contributes
#but hey marisha's awesome and i love her and more people should appreciate her characters#crit role cast#marisha ray#cr1#cr2#keyleth#beauregard lionett#text#meta#cr thoughts#ask#critical role#annalise-inks
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of the fathers in both campaigns, where would you rank them from good to decent to bad fathers. Syldor, thouroh however its spelled, scanlan, yeza, keyleths dad, tary's dad whose name has too many letters in it.
Ok, I haven’t actually met Tary or his dad yet, so with that in mind:
1) Yeza gets first place! Admittedly, a lot of that has to do with how straight-out awful all the other dads in this list are, but he also seems like a perfectly capable parent on his own merits. The worst I can say about him is that he was hesitant to let Luc have a crossbow, but in all fairness, the kid is five.
2) Scanlan! He loses points for not actually being present during Kaylie’s entire childhood, but gains a lot back for immediately trying to make up for it as soon as he knows who she is. He’s made a lot of really bad judgement calls in his life, and he could’ve, y’know, not left Kaylie’s mother to raise a kid on her own, but he openly acknowledges his mistakes and gives Kaylie room to decide what she wants their relationship to look like. A bad start with a strong finish.
3) Keyleth’s dad! I had to look up his name on the wiki (it’s Korrin) because we spend so dang little time with him in the actual show. He did push Keyleth towards a path that she felt uncertain and anxious about, but what little we see of him he’s very supportive and kind. Again, a lot of this is in comparison to the real Bad Dads on the list, but at the very least he and Keyleth seem to have a decent relationship now that she’s an adult.
4) The Gentleman sits right on the line of truly Bad Dads and Okay Dads. Much like Scanlan, he wasn’t present at all for Jester’s childhood, and most of that was spent running a crime empire. He’s made it pretty clear that he doesn’t think he would’ve made a good father, but he’s also accepted that Jester wants him to be a part of her life. On the other hand, he did plan to sell the Mighty Nein into slavery if they failed him during the jobs in Labenda and Shady Creek Run, so. Good thing that didn’t happen? I guess?
5) Syldor’s next, and he marks the start of the truly Bad Dads. He took Vex and Vax from their happy home with their mother, and for what? Social capitol. The Vox Machina Origins comics go even further and say that he made a bet with his friends against the twins succeeding in Secret Elf Assassin School, but I’m not sure exactly how canon that is. He’s saved from a much worse ranking on this list by the fact that he at least acknowledges how much of a Bad Dad he was, and the fact that he seems to be proving his worth as an Okay Dad with Velora.
6) Howaardt (wtf Sam) Darrington is next, and his ranking is entirely informed by Matt’s reaction to him in the latest episode. I wasn’t going to include him at all, but any NPC that makes Matt Mercer go “that’s a bit much” is one that I’m gonna side-eye the hell out of. The only thing saving him right now is the fact that I literally only know his name and the fact that he’s Tary’s dad.
7) Thoreau, the fucker. I hate this asshole, not least because everything about him is firmly rooted in the real world. How many Bad Dads have belittled and controlled their children to the point that their interests are buried under tons of resentment and shame? How many children end up with baggage they don’t need or deserve because of their shitty parents? And he had the nerve to say that any of that was Beau’s fault? Exuuuuuse me? I don’t think so, motherfucker.
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to feel and to live
Percy, during episode 115. In memory of Vox Machina.
2.2k words, brief mentions of death and lots of angst. and perc’ahlia, because how could I not?
Hope you enjoy <3
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Percy had never considered himself an empathetic person. As a child and teen he’d been willfully ignorant of the world beyond his immediate interests, contrary to more of his outgoing siblings. Julius in particular had been the one to rush to the aid of a crying sibling and attend to anyone who required assistance, be it servant, citizen of Whitestone, or visiting noble.
Percy could remember Julius listening to concerns and putting others’ needs before his own, but as much as Johanna had tried teaching the same lessons to her second son, Percy had been too independent and secluded in his disposition, and never found the appeal in branching out… until his family was killed.
Until his family was killed and he escaped and he was forced out into a world with unknowns too numerous to count, like snowflakes piling up on the Alabaster Sierras in the height of winter. The external world became an avalanche rushing toward him and sweeping him up to be carried off amidst its chill, involuntarily thrust from one adventure to the next.
During his travels with the SHITs he’d wondered, quite often, how things would be if one of his other siblings had made it out. If Keyleth might’ve warmed up quicker to Vesper, who grew up tending the gardens with their mother, or if Scanlan would’ve appreciated Oliver’s lewd sense of humor. He found himself, on sleepless nights, questioning if Grog might’ve appreciated Julius’ melee fighting compared to Percy’s own style and, when the newly-christened “Vox Machina” split up before reconvening at Greyskull, if one of his siblings would have stuck around at all.
Later on he found himself wondering if fate would’ve carried his siblings in the same direction as himself. Then a tripped trap in a tomb and a meeting at the Raven’s Crest had him rethinking his opinions on Fate as a whole.
As his weapons spread, as they reached corners of the world farther than he had ever travelled and he hunted down the woman who, besides himself, was responsible for their existence, Percy felt an acute guilt that his weapons caused so much destruction. But he never felt sorrow for those who would be killed, only frustration and anger and fear that things would loop back around to affect those he had come to care for so deeply.
Percy had never considered himself an empathetic person, but he watched one of his brothers, not by blood but by choice, fade into shadow and he watched his beloved’s heart break as the person closest to her in all Exandria was shuttled away and he felt a wave of realization come over him. It was held back momentarily by a quip from Scanlan that had Manners wrapping the gnome in a tight cocoon of iron like the shackles Percy’d kept on his feelings and memories for as long as he could remember. It helped, for a moment.
“Percy, please,” Vex murmured, fingers clenched in a fist just barely hovering over her lips, voice trembling as her eyes darted from his face to Scanlan’s and back. “I can’t take it right now.”
Numbly he nodded and checked through Scanlan’s pockets perfunctorily. Finding nothing of interest, he called the ball back to itself and stepped back as Scanlan made a show of brushing himself off and Vex gave him a grateful nod before drifting over to Keyleth.
The sun overhead glinted from behind a cloud, and Percy glanced over, wandering to the edge of the balcony and taking a deep breath of fresh air that stung at his lungs, nearly warming him from the inside out at the sudden rush of coolness flowing through him.
The city of Vasselheim was laid out below him, buildings smoking, but some scattered people dancing in the streets. People with homes, with lives that they’d saved – lives he’d helped save. There were larger crowds congregating in squares throughout the streets, and for a moment Percy could acutely imagine the friends gathered together and the families who’d lost members in the fight, but who lingered and laughed in the wake of it all.
The marble railing on the balcony stopped his progress forward, and Percy’s hands, calloused and rough, ran across the smooth stone, taking in its uniformity and mapping out each ridge and valley.
He took another breath, the second just as cold, and he felt it rushing through his nose and down his throat and spreading through his chest. It gave him a clarity of mind that he was altogether unfamiliar with.
Percy blinked, looking away from the streets and turning back towards his friends. The gnomes and Grog had disappeared from view, but he saw Keyleth clinging tightly to Vex, her shorter hair just barely falling past her eyes so they were blocked from his view.
He felt an ache in his chest, like the prodding of a festering wound, and the realization that had briefly hit him a minute or so prior coursed through him again. The cold air of Vasselheim caught in his throat and Percy let himself lean against the railing behind him, tears coming to his eyes that he subconsciously blamed on the biting wind. His legs suddenly felt very weak and he sat, forcing himself to breathe steadily as sorrow bloomed in his chest.
For the first time in three years, it felt like he had caught up to the world.
He couldn’t deny the memories anymore, nor the pain that pulled at his heart. He couldn’t deny the holes in him that had never fully been filled, even with the patches Vox Machina had supplied, it felt like he was suddenly melting into the chilled floor.
Percy took another breath as he felt the pain of losing his family burn hot for the first time in years, spurred on by the agony on Vex’s face as Vax had disappeared into the Raven Queen’s embrace. And Keyleth, with her transparent emotions that she couldn’t help wearing out in the open… His heart ached at the still-tangible memory of her anguish.
He had never considered himself an empathetic person, but that was the only way he could explain feeling so much for the first time in years.
The guns on his back suddenly felt very heavy, layered on with the weight of the people whose bodies they’d passed on the way to the Platinum Sanctuary. His pouches and pockets, already laden full with black powder and empty potion bottles and more letters that he’d written over the last couple nights – one to Cassandra and one to Keyleth, one to Vex and one to Vax…
He dropped his hand down to his side, momentarily considering perusing them before his fingers caught on the outline of a different piece of paper folded into his inner coat pocket. Percy paused, breath catching, but he pushed past it toward the Dragon Slayer Longsword instead, drawing it from its sheath and weighing it in his hands, thinking of the many times he’d cut others down and needed to clean the blade. How many enemies had he struck down? How many others had been struck down with swords of a similar ilk, or with duller edges that caught on the skin?
His mind drifted to Craven Edge, that devil of a weapon, and his heart clenched at the thought of how many people had fallen to Sylas’ blade.
The contract in his pocket drew his attention again, but Percy pushed it aside, trying to use the same techniques he usually did to compartmentalize his thoughts even as the walls were bowing in around him.
Who had come up with the idea of a sword, he wondered. Had they been as guilt-ridden as himself? Had they been a warrior, battle-hardened already? What had people used before swords, anyway?
Usually unanswerable questions distracted him, but usually his mind wasn’t being overwhelmed with present and past emotions and wave upon wave of sorrow and guilt and a desire to break things apart to put his family back together.
He watched the sunlight glint off of the sword in his hand, the pommel shining as he tilted it back and forth, but it couldn’t hold his attention long enough, and he soon found his hand slipping down toward the contract again.
“Ipkesh?” he asked, eyes still locked on the blade as he tapped the contract (as if the perturbance would call his attention). “Could you bring him back? Would it, that thing you gave me, bring him back?”
One beat of silence, then two.
He saw Vex’s leggings in his peripheral vision and slipped his hand back toward the sword despite knowing there was no way he could look inconspicuous.
Three beats of silence. Four. Five.
“Hmm,” he murmured, feeling like a child ignored by his parents or a tutor, a bright flash of frustration fighting against the other emotions welling up inside even as he kept his voice calm. “Nothing at all. All right.”
Vex came closer and knelt down next to him, sinking to the floor with as much grace as she always possessed.
“How are you?” she asked, voice low but direct.
It cut him to the core all too roughly, despite her gentle timbre.
“I don’t know,” he admitted with a sigh, feeling shakier as he said the words aloud. “I think I really miss my family. I think I miss my sisters and… my parents.”
Percy almost gritted his teeth to hold back the rush of pain and tears that threatened to overcome him once again. “I think I was going to be a clockmaker once,” he said, the words coming out of nowhere as he continued verbalizing his thoughts. “I haven’t thought about that in…” He trailed off, feeling bombarded by memories, both happy and sad, from his time with his family.
“There was a moment,” he choked out after a brief moment for reflection, pulling himself back together to look up at her, eyes meeting hers, and he felt like he was shaking with the effort of all he was letting go. “Do you remember when we met?”
Her lips curl into a small, knowing smile, and her eyes follow the happy expression despite the tears still drying on her cheeks. Percy is taken aback yet again at Vex’s capacity for love and brightness in the most trying of times, but he can’t dwell on it for too long because he needs to let her know, needs to lay his secrets bare before her before he loses his nerve.
So he does. He tells her about seeing her and thinking it could only be a dream, or some hallucination preceding death or, perhaps, whatever comes afterwards. It’s as if the past few years have been under some sort of fog, even after Orthax’s grip had been cut away and cauterized like a gaping wound.
Percy is not a good man. This he knows. But the sudden weight of guilt and anxiety and – is this what empathy felt like? Realizing, somehow, that those people around you are not figments of your imagination but are real and tangible and that they feel as you do?
Gods, empathy weighed far too much. And he tried to explain to Vex his understanding, or what it used to be (he’s not sure anymore) about brokenness and why he was willing to fight with a goddess for a brief moment… It all feels so shallow in the scope of everything else.
Almost nauseous at the thoughts spinning in his head, Percy half-missed Vex’s whispered comfort as he forces out the truth that’s suddenly looming large as the Ttian still standing eerie vigil over the city.
“I am so tired of hurting people,” he murmured.
“You don’t have to hurt anyone anymore,” she replied immediately. And Vex made the words sound like he is forgiven, like he could, possibly, someday, make up for the weight of the atrocities he’s committed. Her teary eyes are radiance and her smile is mercy, sweeping him up and pulling him in.
How did he ever get so lucky?
“I love you very much,” Percy whispered, feeling like he was slowly being patched back together, carefully and by hand with neat, precise stitching.
“I love you,” she said, placing a hand over his own.
It’s enough.
-
Later that night, out in the woods, curled together underneath stars he used to try to count, Vex’s words come back to him as he holds her close, having spent enough time together that he knows where to put his arms to fit her in them perfectly.
“We’ll fill each other’s gaps. We’ll be the glue.”
There, in the forest of his home, with just the two of them against the rest of the world, as close as they’ve ever been physically, Percy can say, with full confidence, that he understands exactly how she feels. The love she holds for him and the desire to see him be more than he’s ever imagined he could be…
He finds himself swearing, beneath the sight of Pelor or the Raven Queen or whoever else might be watching, that he’ll help hold her together just as she’s done for him all these years.
Percy fell asleep as the load of others’ concerns was lifted from his shoulders, even if only for a moment. And as he drifted off, nose buried in Vex’s hair and fingers twined around hers, he found himself thinking that, for all its weight, empathy was worth it.
#critfic#critical role#percival de rolo#percival of vox machina#critical role fanfic#percival fredrickstein von musel klossowski de rolo iii#vox machina campaign#in memory of their anniversary last friday
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time shift au where laudna grows up in the whitestone where percival and vex'ahlia are the lord and lady de rolo
her parents are killed when the delilah returns to whitestone in an attempt to get revenge on the family that thwarted her and murdered sylas the first time she tried to seize control of the city. but the rebellion prevails because vox machina in every world will defeat her.
due to the trauma of their adventuring, vex and percy struggle to have kids after vesper so they take in all the kids who were orphaned by the briarwoods
laudna grows up so, so loved by vex and percy.
percy cultivates her love of crafting and creativity, holding little laudna's hand as he takes her through the halls of the castle and listens to her chatter about what improvements can be made to the design
(she's always right).
he helps her, when all she can think about is the nooses hanging around her parents' throats, about impossibly slipping through delilah's fingers, when she feels the rope on her neck. he holds her and sings in celestial.
he knows, more than anyone, how to cope with the trauma of losing family to the briarwoods.
it's hard to describe laudna's relationship with vex'ahlia. in some ways, she's the replacement for the mother laudna can only remember in her faintest echoes of memory- in others, she's the sister laudna always desperately wanted.
they look alike, and dignitaries always think that laudna is vex's biological daughter, which never ceased to make laudna proud.
where laudna's time with percy is all about creating art, her time with vex'ahlia can only be described as stillness.
there's a quiet to her moments with vex- sitting quietly in council meetings, when she was really young and had separation anxiety from- well, everyone, since her parents died- (she's nine, now, and now she's so smart she can understand what the adults are talking about)- or walks through the woods that give laudna an inner peace she never quite found with percy.
and while laudna goes to percy when she can't shake the lingering memories of losing her family, she goes to vex at the times when her grief is larger than words or memories, when she wakes up sobbing and can't explain why.
it's not easy. sometimes it's harder, to be loved in the place that haunted her nightmares. but every time laudna wants to tear the place apart, she looks across the dinner table at vex'ahlia, who is trying to shoot chickens out of the air to make them all laugh and percival, who looks terribly resigned to it all, and her heart is warm.
(laudna isn't there when it happens, but one day a frantic keyleth steps through the sun tree holding a sobbing little lavender haired girl. her hands are clenched in the autumn leaves of the tempest's mantle, crackling with violet energy)
(she says she's been looking into children born under the red moon. she says that the little girl's father didn't know how to care for a daughter with powers beyond his experience, she says her mother is gone)
(keyleth and vex'ahlia exchange wordlessly sad glances. there aren't any questions asked between the two of them- two of the most powerful women in exandria- before vex'ahlia holds her arms out)
(but the little girl screams and screams and screams when she's pulled away from keyleth- the most heartbreaking, wretched cries, of a child ripped away from everything she's ever known, now taken away from the one person connected to her past life-)
(keyleth turns to go back to zephrah, but her hand reaches out to cast the spell on the sun tree and she can't bring herself to leave, and maybe it's reckless of her, but she crosses the distance between her and vex and lifts the lavender-haired girl- imogen, the father had said, like a prayer before placing imogen's hand in keyleth's- and takes her back into her arms)
(imogen's sobs calm, a little bit, and the panicked phantom sensation that had been radiating off of her faded slightly from keyleth's mind, and vex's, judging by the slight release of tension from vex's shoulders)
(she and vax had always imagined having a little girl.)
there are many more visits, after that, where vex'ahlia and keyleth sit side-by-side in the grounds of whitestone and watch a dark-haired girl and a violet-haired girl, much older now, walk hand-in-hand through the gardens, picking poppies and orchids.
you know i'm in love with you, right?
you know you saved my life, right?
i should have told you. it's yours.
(there are nights, where shadows flicker in zephrah, where a half-elf man dies defending the same lavender-haired girl, where the clouds turn red, and red, and red- but we don't think about that.)
#imodna#imogen temult#laudna#cr au#critical role au#critical role fanfiction#cr fanfiction#imogen x laudna#critical role spoilers#keyleth of the air ashari#keyleth#vex'ahlia#percival de rolo
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to go more in depths about this post i made where i said that Vox Machina should adopt Zahra and Kash’s child if they don’t survive
Percy lost pretty much his entire family to the Briarwood and Vecna’s lust for power and he probably doesn’t want anyone else, much less a child of his friends, to go through what he did.
Vex and Vax also know the experience of being really young when a parent is killed by a powerful, near unstoppable force and growing up without any ‘proper’ parents
The death of Scanlan’s mom when he was young (alright so i don’t actually know the age he was but it was probably during his younger years)is somethign he never came to terms with as well, so he knows that pain.
And Keyleth also ‘lost’ her mom and she was left with the legacy/duty her mom left behind, which she struggled to accept at times.
the majority of vox machina knows the pain of losing a parent or family, so unless zahra and kash survive, it wouldn’t make sense for them to NOT adopt or help out the child in some way
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Buckle in friends
I have a lot of insomnia thoughts about Keyleth and "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" She's going to live so much longer than the others if everything goes as planned. And if she doesn't spend her time making sure Vox Machina and their allies are remembered I'll eat my fucking hat. I could make a whole post just about that, about how she chooses to craft the narrative-- leaving her friends, not in perfect light, but as the amazingly imperfect people they were, about how much the overcame, and cautioning others to avoid their mistakes. But in light of recent episodes that's not what I'm here to talk about today. Today I want to talk about what she might make from the heartbreak of losing Vax. "The orphanage I help to raise hundreds of children I get to see them growing up" Because Keyleth and Vax? They're going to run out of time. That future he'd envisioned growing old with her and supporting her while she leads her people? Children? That's not going to happen. So instead-- instead-- an orphanage. A home for children of disasters, a home for those whose parents don't care how they should. A home for troubled children. Maybe those caught turning to thievery? Catching them before they fall into the hands of organizations like the clasp. "In their eyes I see you, [Vax'ildan] I see you every time"
#critical role#cr spoilers#keyleth#vax'ildan#vox machina#angst#but what else am I going to do after those last 2 episodes#long post#but I hope someone out there reads it#and enjoys#There's more I could have added#about Vex helping found the orphanage#about what each surviving member of VM could have added#but#that's a different post
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can i has more cr sense8 au percy pls? (if your up for it of course)
*slams 2,000 words on your desk five months later* MY HOBBIES INCLUDE PROCRASTINATING FOR FINALS BY WRITING SCENES FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE HYPOTHETICAL PLOT OF NICHE CROSSOVERS WITHOUT GIVING YOU ANY CONTEXT SAVE A COUPLE OLD POSTS OF BULLET POINTS (posts here. Take this fic as the inter-seasons holiday special, basically.)
“I’mstill not certain we should be doing this.“
Itwas a meaningless statement even before he said it. With her arm in his, withthe warmth of her against his side and the tinkle of her laugh fading in theair, Percy thought he would trust Vex to lead him down any icy path through thewoods, with any blindfold on or off, even if he had never known her moreintimately than he knew himself. Even if they had just met, somehow, one day,and she had smiled and beckoned, he would have followed.
Exaggeratedgagging noises broke into his thoughts—Vax, visiting as almost always, makingVex laugh in the cold Northern darkness. The drugs all but gone from his veins,Percy could feel him again, that knife’s edge of sarcasm prickling overdevotion deep enough to fill the sea.
Two(one? three?) months of isolation was turning him poetic. It was horrifying.
“It’llbe fine,” said Vex, tugging him forward. “Turn right—”
Percyfollowed her instructions obediently. “I don’t know where you get theconfidence that she won’t be looking, just this one night. It’s not like theholidays have stopped them before.”
“Becauseshe’s loony, Freddie,” Vax said with overwhelming fondness.
“BecauseI don’t care!” Vex proclaimed, and Percy felt her toss her hair within herselfbefore it smacked him on the cheek. “We’re taking Christmas back. What they didto your family was horrible, yes, and we willkill them for it, I promise—”
Theothers nodded in agreement, the heroin finally losing its grip.
Vexput her hands to his face—cold, calloused, but the kindest Percy had felt—andpushed up his blindfold.
“Buttonight,” she whispered, wild and soft and fey in the moonlight, “let’s justnot be afraid.”
Theplace she’d led him was beautiful. Vex was beautiful, already shrugging off herbag and dropping down to swap her boots for skates, lithesome and lively as theswaying trees and stars above. They shone down on the iced-over pond, in the centerof the ancient forest, just as they must have in Jerusalem two thousand yearsago. There wasn’t another human being for miles, Percy knew without asking.
“Doyou even know how to skate?” he asked, amused, watching her fumble with thestraps.
“No.”She grinned up at him, entirely impish. “But you do. And Scanlan, I think.”
“Ido,” the man himself confirmed with a smile, making hot chocolate in his LosAngeles apartment.
“Ifyou’re getting gross, I’m leaving,” Vax announced, and vanished—as if thatmeant anything, as if they couldn’t all feel him and see him as well in hiscell in Osaka, or Los Angeles or the Outback or wherever Percy and Vex were.(He didn’t know and she wasn’t telling, and that was how they were safe.)
“Allright!” Pike chirped to her choir straggling into line in her little woodenchurch at the eaves of the Amazon, so newly rebuilt it still dripped tar. “Youready?”
“Let’sdo this!” said Scanlan, bringing two frothing mugs into the living room, whereKaylee was doing her best to scowl at the bright tree and heap of presents.Tary echoed it, squaring his shoulders for a much less amicable familybreakfast, and Grog smashed a beer bottle as he shouted, because it was aChristian holiday but fuck it, it was a holiday, and the peace was still goingand the dirty thugs and criminals of Ankara were going to have a fuckin’ party.
Asfar as possible from any gritty urban party, and more importantly any evilbrain surgeon, Keyleth sat by her campfire and took out her guitar, andlaunched into an offkey rendition of “Jingle Bells” on the warm Australianevening. Across the fire, Kashaw stared at her like she had to be kidding, butwithin a verse she’d smiled enough to draw out his surprisingly rich tenor.
Scanlanblew them both out of the water, of course, and Kaylee didn’t blink as she toreinto a box that she would soon find contained mostly just increasingly smallerboxes, because Scanlan singing was like the sun shining. It just happened. Halfwayaround the world, Turkish pop music blasted out of the bar and down the street,and Grog jumped up and down with Zanror and Worra, mostly on the beat.Tremulous voices strengthening as the sun slipped through the high window andthe rest of Puentamáre’s congregation filed in, swelled by all those coming tovisit the “little angel,” Pike’s choir sang the day in, and Vox Machina stoodand sang with them.
Theydanced in the bar in Turkey, bright lights and pop music pounding against theancient sandstone walls. They laughed over brunch in New York, until Lydiaasked if something was the matter and Mary-Anne kicked Tary under the table,and both his parents shot him dirty looks. They clambered over rocks in theOutback and Tary squealed in fear at a giant spider as Vax laughed and held itup to his face.
Theyjust managed to hold onto the iPhone to film Kaylee furiously flinging sevenlayers of boxes and wrapping paper at their heads, in retaliation for spendingten minutes unwrapping a single guitar shop gift card. But she was laughing,too, so it was okay. Turning state’s witness earned Vax a couple extraprivileges; he spent one on a phone call to Zahra, left bear-sitting, and Vexcried on Percy’s shoulder while they all made kissy noises at the phone andassured a confusedly lowing Trinket that his mama would be home as soon as shecould, and she loved him very much. Percy hadn’t ice-skated since he wassixteen, years before That Night, but they did waltz steps and figure-eights ona moonlit frozen pond somewhere in Siberia, and held each other tight. It wasChristmas and Vox Machina laughed and sang and cried, and held each othertight.
“Whata lovely way to spend the holiday.”
Percyslipped before she finished speaking, eyes clenched shut; he didn’t know whenthe ice was coming until his hands hit, hard, and the spray his face.
“Percy?”Vex.
“Really,Percival,” Ripley said, “You don’t have to so childish about this. I’m not hereto hunt you down, tonight.”
“She’shere,” he gasped, pulling himself across the ice. Eyes shut, don’t even look.Don’t even think. “Vex, she’s here,you have to– get the–”
“Shit!”Vex fumbled for her bag, still on the shore. “Fuck, fuck! Fuck her!”
Ripleyclicked her tongue in disapproval. She stalked silently across the ice, inlight boots rather than heavy winter skates—but then, she wasn’t really there.
“Ithought you might like to go on a trip, actually.”
Andthen they were standing in a corridor, and Percy was the one mis-dressed forthe occasion, bundled up for the frigid wilderness. He had half a foot inheight on Ripley, and he’d worked to keep his machine shop muscles while pentup in…wherever he and Vex were. None of it did anything to ease the way hisstomach turned as Ripley eyed him up and down, judging him for the failedscience experiment he didn’t need to be in her head to know she deemed him. Shelooked almost identical to how she’d been that week starting eight years agotoday, staring down at him. A few more streaks of grey in her bun, but the sameslim glasses, the same purse to her lips, the same damn style of lab coat,sleeves stained red at the end of each day as she peeled him apart. He knew whyshe’d done it, now. It didn’t help.
Thebarest hint of a smile curled up her lips as they both remembered. Then sheturned and strode down the corridor, calling over her shoulder, “Come along.”
Percyfollowed, scanning the hallway for clues as to Ripley’s location. He wasn’tsurprised to find none. The walls were stainless steel and the white-and-blacktile floors were sanitation-clean. It was another Vecna facility, but god onlyknew where in the world.
“Ireally thought you’d be doing better at this, Percival,” Ripley chided, withoutgiving him so much as a backwards glance. “I’ve gotten so much informationabout you and your little group, and you’re just lagging behind.”
“Whatdo you want, Anna.”
Hewas lagging behind, as they walked, but not so far that she’d think he wasn’tplaying along. Every extra second here bought more time for Vex to get theneedle and knock him out.
“I’mgoing to share a secret with you,” she said, with a much younger woman’s senseof mischief. “Just to liven up this little game.”
Theyreached a door at the end of the hallway, steel and locked with a keypad.Ripley smiled at him as she entered the number, sickly sweet. “After all, it’sthe holidays—it’s only right that you be with family.”
Fora long, horrible moment as she swung open the heavy door, Percy thought he wasgoing to see corpses, or worse. A freezer of strung-out piles of tissue andorgans. Eight brains in tanks, still with electrodes attached. He’d seen, onthe opposite side of the laboratory, what they’d been starting to do to hisfamily.
Itwas a teenage girl’s room. The walls were unpainted, but they were decoratedwith posters, of scientific infographics and famous historical women and acouple people Percy vaguely recognized as famous actors. There was a carpet, anelegant shag thing, and a pair of stuffed bookcases, a desk with a very nicecomputer, and a bed with at least two dozen stuffed animals, all of which Percycould name. At least one of them had been his. The girl on the bed, lying onher stomach and reading a book with her legs kicked in the air, was even morefamiliar.
“Cassandra.”
She’dlooked up when the door opened, polite coolness chasing annoyance chasingwariness from her eyes.
“Dr.Ripley. What do you want?”
“Iwas in this wing and I thought I would check on you, my dear.” Despite theendearment, Ripley’s tone had reverted to the crisp professionalism she seemedto show everyone but Percy.
Cassandraclearly didn’t buy either façade. But she rolled to a sitting position withonly a faint sigh, and held out her left arm. There was something attached toit, a cuff with a small screen that flashed first her blood pressure then, asRipley pressed the buttons on the side, several other measurements—BPM, neuralconductivity, and things Percy didn’t recognize. A slim wire ran up from it toa handful of electrodes attached, clearly permanently, to the side of hertemple.
“I’llkill you. I’ll kill you.” His voiceshook.
“Ihaven’t noticed anything unusual,” Cassandra said as Ripley checked thereadings. A bored patient answering unasked questions by rote. “The new anxiety meds are doing fine.”
Ripleymade a non-committal noise. “Look at me.”
Cassandramet her eyes obediently.
“Leaveher alone. What are you doing?” Percytried to put himself between them, but there wasn’t room. And he couldn’t touchhis sister, couldn’t touch either of them—couldn’t drag Ripley away andcouldn’t take Cass in his arms and just run.(Like that had worked so well, last time.)
“Doyou feel anything unusual right now?” Ripley asked, still holding Cassandra’sgaze. “Physically or emotionally. Really search.”
Awrinkle appeared between Cassandra’s eyes as she frowned. There was a widestreak of white in her hair, family to Percy’s complete bleach. That hadn’tbeen there before. When he’d last seen her, when she was bleeding in the snowfrom bullet wounds as he ran— She was 23 now, the spitting image of Vesper whenshe’d died, except for that streak. The room was still decorated for a teenagerbut Percy’s youngest sister was an exasperated 23.
“Cass.”
Ripley’seyes sparkled at his anguish, but Cassandra remained impartial.
“Nothing.Should I?”
“Youknow better than to ask questions that could influence an experiment,” Ripleysaid. But she stepped back, letting Cassandra’s gaze fall. It returned to herbook.
“Don’tforget,” Ripley added as she re-opened the door, which had automatically lockedbehind them. “The Briarwoods will be expecting you for Christmas dinner.”
IfPercy had thought Cassandra’s expression polite before, when she looked up asecond time it was utterly impassive.
“Ilook forward to it. Was there anything else?”
“Oh,no.” Ripley smiled thinly at them both. “I think everything I need will bearriving soon enough—”
AndPercy was back on the bank, in the snow, in the woods, and everything but Vexfaded as she thrust the needle into his arm and released, the familiar,dizzying haze of cheap heroin washing him clean. Ripley disappeared. Cassandradisappeared. Keyleth, Vax, Grog, Pike, Tary, Scanlan disappeared. Safe. Percystayed as freezing and alone as eight years ago, running from his sisterbleeding out in the snow, assuming she was dead.
“Percy?Percy, are you alright? Is she gone?”
Vex’swarm hands tugged at him and he rolled over obediently, and opened his eyes.She was still beautiful, bright and concerned and fierce. The moon above wasalmost as lovely. Percy lifted a hand to her cheek and caught his breath whenshe held it—no, choked on a sob. That was what his body was doing, now.
“Cass.She– they– I don’t know. She’s alive.” His whole body shook, drugs and cold and every ounce of adrenaline racing through his veins. “They have mysister.”
#critical role#sense8#hm...#vox machina#percy de rolo#anna ripley#cassandra de rolo#perc'ahlia#the hellbound gunship#(i don't care if no one else uses that tag; it's my tag and i love it)#my fic#fanfiction#i haven't watched s2 yet but i'm very excited to do so#i might rewatch s1 first#quartus saeculum ascendans#quartus saeculum irruens#nivis saxi sol
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Critical Rewatch, Episode 45 - Keyleth
God, Keyleth’s convo in this episode where she talks about how she’s going to outlive every single member of the party?
“Even if we somehow make it through this, and I complete my Aramente - I’ll still watch all of you die.”
Can you imagine that? How that must feel? Keyleth has this knowledge weighing on her, all the time: even if everything goes impossibly well, she still loses everything. And she’s so young! Before Vox Machina, all she really knew was Zephra. And now she has this chosen family, and she knows one day she won’t have them anymore.
Which is why I’m so thankful she gets to see a) survivors at Pyrah, including Cerkonos, and b) her father. Days after the invasion, in the midst of her self-doubt and worry and fear, and revisiting that terrible knowledge of her lifespan, Keyleth can relax for half a moment in the knowledge that her father is alive and well. Pure and Blessed Content, tbh.
“You look just like her.” “I still haven’t found Mom.” aksdjhkashdjkjahdKEYLETH
Korren asks how her Aramente is going, Vex immediately: “She’s kicking ass!” Vox Machina is always 100% ready to Back Up Their Girl, Don’t Test Them!
“Daddy?” “Yes?” “...it’s good to see you again, Father.” Honestly, I feel like this is a perfect illustration of their relationship? In Keyleth’s original backstory she talks about how once her talents were discovered she kind of lost the rest of her childhood to training. And then she was pushed out into the world to learn on her own. So her relationship with her father straddles this awkward line, of child-and-dad, and father-and-dutiful-daughter, which is interesting. Keyleth doesn’t always know how to deal with a parent who sent her out on her own - as part of the tradition, sure, but it still would’ve been terrifying.
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