Shitty Keyleth aesthetic: a success story in learning to overcome debilitating social anxiety and also the regular anxiety in order to become a strong, competent leader. she should write self-help books tbh

🍃 | KEYLETH

— icons in green for anonymous ; like/rb if using

Hi! I'm Keyleth from The Legend Of Vox Machina/Critical Role

I figured withe TLOVM season 2 getting released, this would probably be a good time for a canon call

I'm looking for any of my friends, in my main timelime I was dating Vex'ahlia and I believe Percy was dating Vax

I'm pretty sure I was transfemme/genderqueer and I also remember my Percy being transmasc

I also remember my antlers, were more... antlery? They may have been more of actual antlers, but I'm unsure

I'm 16 at the moment, so I'd prefer if anyone older then 19 didn't interact!

Like or reblog this and I will contact you !!

🃏

Hello! I am Keyleth from The Legend of Vox Machina (specifically the show), and I am looking for anybody. Adults only please, as I am an adult. Like/rb and I will reach out. Thank you!

!!!!!!!!

Awesome! Could I get a moodboard for a Keyleth kin (Vox Machina/Critical Role) with themes of being in Love with Vex'ahlia, soft sapphic stuff in general and the moon?

Thanks in advance!! <3<3

Hello Keyleth! Hope you’re having a good day :]! This was a fun request, hope you like the result. Art used is can be found here! -Best Regards, Mod Boo

the fact that it's canon that vex's attitude towards keyleth wasn't solely due to codependency but also bc she actually adores her a lot, she totally gets what vax sees in her but she can't afford to feel that way especially if her brother's letting his guard down.... vex trying to reassure keyleth regarding her brother's behavior by saying "maybe he was pretending he didn't like you bc he was uncomfortable bc he liked you so much. maybe he just wanted to kiss you"... laura and her choices

Oh yeah. The specification in this ask of "she cant afford to feel that way, especially if her brother is letting his guard down" is just. 👌👌👌👌. There are so many LAYERS to it, the way that it comes off as jealousy (and it IS), and the way that it maybe comes off as fear (because it IS), but its not just about losing her brother, its about the prospect of opening up- to kindness and cruelty- and being vulnerable and all the ways it puts you in danger. (And no matter appearances, both Keyleth and Vax are better at it than her, right? Braver about it. And maybe that's hard to swallow.) Its always easier to frame it in the lens of her brother- in a mistake he is making, in a threat to their relationship, in a fear he is working to overcome- than it is to process it in the context of her. Because doing that is dangerous, for Vex, in a way it isn't for Vax, for Keyleth, for all these fools that love easier and trust easier and are, perhaps, braver for it.

(I also like the added layer if you read it as: that to an extent, Vex didn't even really know how much she cared about Keyleth. Maybe, at least in the start, Vex was only half aware of the way the fear and concern and jealousy and admiration intertwine and can come out ugly. It was easiest to stomach it as fear about her brother, fear about them as a unit, fear about their dual safety. But- there's so much to it. There's so much to it.)

And it's all canonical!!! I am always being spoiled by Laura Bailey Characters being flawed in the indulgent ways I hope for them to be. What lovely, crunchy characterization. 👌👌👌

i feel like talking about lilliana’s potential redemption arc in front of keyleth after she just said she’s gonna tear down their entire organization is uhhh not the best idea! and neither is telling her that imogen’s related to her!!!!!

Vex'ahlia struggles with the marks that the events of Whitestone left, especially her fight with Vax'ildan and Keyleth's sacrifice. However, with helpful advice from Pike and a few nudges in the right direction, perhaps there are ways for her to get past it with less burdens weighing on her shoulders.

a.k.a A Vexleth fanfic with some exploration of familial bonds, feelings realisation and a little bit of angst to spice it all up.

I just wanna be Vex and kiss Keyleth passionately on the mouth after a long and emotional romance because my girl is demi and by god I respect that

this book is so bittersweet knowing the twins stop fucking with each other later on for their partners they claimed wouldn’t get in the way of them 😕😐 /j (major sarcasm)

The Twins in the Feywild

or, the adaptation is good, actually:

The thing about the Feywild arc in the Legend of Vox Machina is that it's not just a simple condensing of 20-ish hours into perhaps one hour; it's also at a notably different point in the story, and is changed to reflect that.

[as a sidebar: I am not tagging spoilers for Critical Role Campaign 1, as the episodes in question are 5+ years old. This post does have a large number of them, and in general, if you are new to CR and found this via the TLOVM tag, welcome! My blog will have spoilers for the campaign.]

In Campaign 1, after the Sunken Tomb and the encounter with Kamaljiori (who survives in the campaign, incidentally), all of Vox Machina heads towards Westruun. Grog has his (also different from TLOVM, also condensed in a thoughtful way that may be discussed in a separate post) struggles with Craven Edge, and they all encounter the Herd of Storms, deal with them, and kill Umbrasyl. The episode after they have killed the first of the four dragons responsible for the Conclave attacks, Umbrasyl the Hope Devourer, is aptly named Hope; they then go to Vasselheim where Vax formalizes his relationship to the Raven Queen, and then deal with Hotis back in Whitestone. The Deathwalker's Ward's flight power is also activated. Then they go to the Feywild, together (though Pike stays behind again due to Ashley's schedule.) In general, Vax has made peace with his decision, and the party is, for the most part, much more optimistic than they are here.

Here, all four dragons are still at large, Keyleth's spell was interrupted, Vax is still on edge, and the last thing they saw was Pike, impaled on Grog's sword. They are doing far worse.

So, understandably, Vax is in a sour mood the entire trip. This significantly changes his role, as he's less able to offer support for Vex. Keyleth is also more insecure.

The episode in Syngorn in the main campaign, which was also, notably, Critical Role's first ever live show with the tech hiccups and nerves that implies, is actually pretty funny. We do get the twins' encounter with Syldor - more on that later - but a large portion of the episode is dedicated towards stealing hats and trying to find a threshold crest for Garmelie (with Keyleth and Percy eventually outsmarting him on a technicality, in true Fey fashion); and the party accidentally implying and then fully leaning into implication that they are polyamorous and need a room so that they can have an orgy. I've seen indications that Syngorn was much grimmer than that; while the twins were understandably frustrated with it, it was far from a dark episode.

With the caveat that I have not read Kith and Kin, Syldor Vessar is one of the characters in Critical Role canon whom I feel the fandom has the most warped perception. He is a dick, to be clear; but on a scale of living character parents, he is treated with a vitriol the far worse Howaardt Darrington and Thoreau Lionett oddly dodge, and it says something that Tary and Beau never to our knowledge attempt to interact with their fathers again, whereas Vex maintains a distant and at times contentious but minimally cordial relationship with hers. (It's not unique for parents in this show to be given the madonna/whore treatment, as others have noted, and parents who fall most towards the middle of that false dichotomy tend to bear the brunt of it - see the Calloways and the Gentleman - but Syldor's treatment is, to be honest, inexplicable and weird.)

In "Heredity and Hats," Syldor is not warm or pleasant, but he does, in fact, apologize at length for his behavior and accepts that the twins have reason to hate him when he offers his assistance. (1x60, 47:58) He also accepts Percy's correction of Vex's title in full, and indeed, seems pleased by it (1x60, 55:22). He is not a good person, but he is, by the time the twins see him in the Feywild, a penitent one. And, in this episode, Vax is the one who is largely unconcerned with Syldor, with the implication he's already given up on him and doesn't particularly care, whereas Vex is much angrier.

However, that's all very difficult to convey in TLOVM in under ten minutes, when Vex's upcoming showdown with Saundor hinges on her insecurity surrounding how she was perceived in the past and her ongoing struggles with powerlessness. So in that, Syldor is far more dismissive, and Vax, who is still, as mentioned, in a very angry place himself, is, well, angry. It is a different tack! It also is a very smart choice given that in a campaign that lasts hundreds of hours, the rule is show don't tell; and in an animated series that must compress this into a tiny fraction of that time, that rule is lifted. This is not a time for the subtle background of Vex's C1 arc. There is no time for the subtle background of Vex's C1 arc. What matters is that the adaptation is consistent within itself; achieves the general, for lack of a better term, vibes and major plot beats of the original campaign; and can reach an audience unfamiliar with the source material. We can't make Syldor fascinatingly complex and Vax blasé here, so we don't, so that we can understand why Saundor is able to cut so close to the core of Vex before she's able to pull away.

It's different! And, yes, as someone who does like something very long-form and subtle and show-not-tell, I do prefer the original! I also think that within the limitations of an animated show with 6-hour seasons, with the assumption that the Feywild arc starts here (that is, with Vax still where he is emotionally, Umbrasyl alive, and Grog, Scanlan, and Pike absent), trying to otherwise keep things the same would feel artificial and unsatisfying, and fail to serve Vex's story. It is changed to heighten it in a medium that needs heightening because there's no time for breadth, and you can dislike it, but criticizing it for not being identical to the original is a particularly egregious missing of the point.

(It's also worth keeping in mind: have you rewatched this arc recently? Are you even comparing it to the story as it was, or are you comparing it to the story you remember, because, like it or not, Vex's story was always very much about her relationships to Syldor, Vax, and Percy, and her need to be liked; her flaw was that she simultaneously desperately needed people and hated herself for it.)

If your requests are still open, would it be possible to do a bloodborne hunter!s/o for vox machina?

I can imagine the hunter!s/o has quite the amount of scars from beasts and cosmic kin they’re willing to show the vox machina crew if they’re not being taken seriously.

Bloodborne sounds perfect for the fall/Halloween season

Cue the Cleric Beast/Cleric Amelia beast screech 😀

Percy

He’s equally fascinated mostly by how you managed such feats and even offers to innovate some improvements if you’ll let him

Grog

Constantly asking questions and even praising you for fighting a beast with as many weapons as you could

Scanlan

Writes more of your feats into his songs but there a genuine wonder to them the more you realize

Keyleth

Equally hooked but so concerned about you and your well-being because of these stories go

Vax’ildan

He’s known his encounters with gods but your stories put those to shame as he eagerly listens and admires the battle scars you have

Pike

The cleric has had her fair share of cosmic horrors but she never anticipated types like these before, especially when you mention how some were clerics too

Vex’ahlia

Not one to undermine you, she’s inquisitive and wants to know more about you, hooked onto every story

Interest aside, I’d imagine if they ever came across one of the Bloodborne Beasts/Bosses, they’d be like 😀🙃😨

Loving that Kith & Kin is focused on family/ sibling love, all the while loving that they gave Vax another male love interest in his pre knowing Keyleth days (as y’all know, I’m a Vaxleth girl through and through, but it’s refreshing!)

Not that his bisexuality is any less valid if it was another woman, it’s just nice to have the mlm rep.

Keyleth from Critical Role/Vox Machina here!!

I'm looking for everyone other then Vex and Vax!

Mainly Percy, we were very close <3

Just interact with this and I'll get back to you !!

>Oh crap I'm sorry

Keyleth anon here, I forgot to say that I'm 16 !!

So I'd prefer if you were around my age and not to much older or younger!!

Hi! I'm Keyleth from The Legend Of Vox Machina/Critical Role

I figured withe TLOVM season 2 getting released, this would probably be a good time for a canon call

I'm looking for any of my friends, in my main timelime I was dating Vex'ahlia and I believe Percy was dating Vax

I'm pretty sure I was transfemme/genderqueer and I also remember my Percy being transmasc

I also remember my antlers, were more... antlery? They may have been more of actual antlers, but I'm unsure

I'm 16 at the moment, so I'd prefer if anyone older then 19 didn't interact!

Like or reblog this and I will contact you !!

!!!!!!!!

what do you think percy and vex's favorite food(s) are

Well for a start on that we'd have to think about what the cuisines of Tal'Dorei are like, especially the cuisines of their homes. Then we'd have to think about their formative influences and traumas and how that might intersect. Let's start with Percy.

Given Whitestone is located in the north, I imagine they tend to hearty food, especially in winter - plough puddings and beef stew with dumplings and hefty roasts. Stodgy foods meant to line your stomach and keep you cosy. Of course, the wealthy can afford to heat their houses better and provide better food, but I imagine the underlying principle wouldn't differ too much. They might show off by importing some things, but usually that would be fruit and spices more than a lot else, at least based on history. With teleportation, of course, one could import a great deal else, but I think the ease of magic would also have a messy effect on pricing and value.

Besides which... I don't know that the standard winter foods would be Percy's favourites. Winter would be when everyone's stuck inside and likely when he would be most expected to interact with his little siblings and cousins; I think he'd prefer the lighter summer foods when the castle has more visitors, certainly, but also fewer people inside constantly - with the better weather, more cause for people to be out in the gardens or down in town.

I think Percy retains a fondness for good butter shortbread, the sturdy kind that isn't so flaky you can't dip it in your tea. I think it was a preferred favourite for him when he was studying or experimenting and I think he would have rather an emotional response to getting to have it again once returned to Whitestone.

Other Whitestone foods I don't think he terribly appreciated growing up, simply because they were always there. And, of course, after the Briarwoods' feast, some almost certainly have very bad memories attached for him. I think returning to Whitestone would give him cause to appreciate the old dishes again, and while I don't know if any of them might be his favourite I think he'd be glad to have them again.

After the Briarwoods, he was canonically a mess for several years, then made the List, tracked down Ripley and got himself locked up, starving to death in a cell. I don't think he really remembers what he first ate when he was freed by Vox Machina (I think he was too out of it still, thinking it was all a near-death fever dream), but I think he remembers the general tenor of his first meals with them: a mix of field rations of dried meat and fruit, and occasional stews made of what the twins could hunt and the twins and Keyleth could forage up and whatever Pike and Grog could turn that into it. Game stew I think is something he associates with Vox Machina and a sense of place and security, and is a comfort dish for him.

So, there's Percy. I think his favourites are a good butter shortbread for dunking in his tea as he works, and a game stew that fills him with nostalgia and feelings of security.

Now: on to Vex.

I know a lot of people associate Byroden with the Southern US states and while I don't know if I wholly agree (given Syngorn, and the general riffs on medieval Europe for fantasy worlds I might take a pinch more from Southern Europe) it's certainly not a bad place to take a culinary cue from: no one can deny there's several distinct cuisines through that region. We also have snippets of details from EXU and Kith & Kin.

I think Vex has deeply fond memories of fresh fruit (peaches and apples especially, perhaps at times stolen from orchards they weren't meant to be in) and of her mother's cooking. I feel like they made the most of every bit of food they had so there would be lots of leftovers - cook some chicken one evening, have it cold in a salad the next day, for example - and I think there was some Elvish influence in the area just due to Syngorn's proximity. Given the twins' history, I think the things they recognised as having Elvish influence have rather soured the memories later - fruit pies and turnovers I could see as often having Elvish influence - but I can see Vex having deeply nostalgic memories of her mother's breaded chicken and a stew made from a mixture of vegetables and what fish they could get from the local waterways.

I honestly think Vex also has a nostalgic fondness for game stew. Partly due to her frugality - even as head of the Hunt in Whitestone she'd have access to game meat and likely wouldn't want it to go to waste - and also because... she and Vax had game stew when they got free of Syngorn and Syldor. They had game stew when they got Trinket, and Vex realised she could save others. They had game stew when they met the rest of Vox Machina and built a new family.

I think it's at times hard for her, with how tied it is to Vax, but I think it's also important, if that makes sense? And the fact that she and Percy both like it means it's something they might occasionally cook for themselves (singed bits of meat and veg, and a slightly charcoaled taste is de rigeur and just means they got it right, after all).

Thinking further, I'm inclined to say that Percy is... not picky, exactly - after everything he's been through I think he eats what's put in front of him and I think his upbringing taught him not to complain (much) - but I do think he's very very selective of what he actually likes. This plus his privacy makes pinning down what his favourite foods might be a bit difficult. I can't really think of anything, fancy or not, that he'd be so delighted by he'd call it favourite and seek out, and given how he tends to avoid being overbearing or even weighing in unless he thinks it matters (and remember, for a long time he's not so sure he as a person matters. As a de Rolo or a member of Vox Machina, certainly, but as a person? Not so much) I don't think he'd necessarily give away any favourites of his easily.

Vex, meanwhile, likes what she likes and as long as she's not being made to feel ashamed of it, won't really care much. I can see her having a moment of thrilled delight at an early meal at Greyskull, after they employ Laina as a cook, perhaps some kind of herby chicken pie with savoury scone topping, and frequently wanting more. However, I suspect she'd rarely ask for it until much later - after she's titled, perhaps even after Percy get together. After being so convinced her own wants and desires are secondary to everyone else's, I don't think she'd want to request it if she wasn't sure the others would want it too. I can also see her having a particular fancy Elven foodstuff as a guilty pleasure, one she avoids due to cost, bad memories, and worries of what Vax might think, but which she finds too delicious to not enjoy any chance she gets. I'm thinking some kind of ludicrously fancy Elvish patisserie with fresh berries, probably, but could be convinced to something else.