Percy de Rolo and Keyleth of the Air Ashari my beloveds, my dearest companions, my comfort pair, nobody does it like them. They are the basis of what all friendships should be, they are the fucking blueprint, they show how meaningful profound affection in different forms other than romantic is, they are best friends, they are siblings, they are the platonic ideal of platonic ideals, they are soulmates, they have matching earrings, they are both massive nerds, they gift handmade jewellery to each other, they are the exact opposites, they are so similar, they are sunshine and shadow, they are nature and science, they are all the elements of the universe working together, they are creators, they are leaders afraid of their destinies, they care incredibly deeply about everybody around them, they are fuckups, they try to learn and grow, they argue, they fight, they hug and make up and never hold it against one another, they joke and drink and are always there for each other, they have died and been revived and brought each other back from the brink, they have met the gods themselves and still know that the connection between each other is worth more than divinity itself will ever be, they have fought monsters and titans and their greatest fears together and have come out the other side broken and battered but stronger for it, they are brother and sister, they are siblings-in-law, they are the epitome of chosen family on all possible levels, they will live through their lifetimes and legacies, they are love itself.

part two of @essayofthoughts’s headcanon requests because i am insane and have too many thoughts

pike trickfoot

sexuality headcanon: definitely not straight. she was a sailor. so, probably bi or pan? idk, she didn’t have a lot of in-campaign time to show her preferences and whatnot. clinging to that “what do you think i do while you guys are gone?” line about brothels because that’s fucking hilarious and i love her

favorite ship(s): i really like pikelan!! completely honestly!!! i think it’s cute and funny and they’re… such fucking idiots. omg. i also think it’s hilarious that ashley and sam turned them into a modern-day celebrity couple with that post-canon divorce. legendary. also oddly a fan of pike/percy/vex, because unrequited pining makes me sad but i can’t abandon perc’ahlia, SO. they all hold hands. plus i think pike and vex are cute together, and those three are my faves, so

brotp: pike and grog’s relationship makes me so emotional…. they’re found siblings and they look out for each other…… they’re monstahs…….. i love them. grog is always making sure pike’s okay, and sticking up for her, and pike is grog’s biggest protector. she defends him and gets riled up when people call him stupid - always thinking about her in the search for grog, where she says grog’s mind is beautiful. i lost my mind. i love them so much

notp: pike and grog, because!! they’re siblings!! best buddies!!!! not a drop of romantic attraction between them

happy headcanon: pike sings so many sea shanties, even the baudy ones - especially the baudy ones - and it’s not just because it makes everyone else smile and laugh. that’s a bonus, obviously, but mostly she sings them because they make her happy. these are her thing, they remind her of her times as a sailor, where she felt free. the time where she discovering herself, and it felt like every branch of possibility was open before her. they let her cut loose, her anxieties slipping from her shoulders like the rolling waves. i think she also genuinely likes singing in celestial, not only because it helps her feel connected to sarenrae, but because it’s just.... pretty. it’s a pretty language in a world that isn’t always so pretty

angsty headcanon: she feels a lot of guilt over vax’s death. maybe if she’d been in the tomb with them, she could have brought vex back without the group hesitating to trust kash’s unknown god. she doesn’t know what she would have done, but knows she could have done something. she feels like that over most of the deaths in the VM - she wonders just how much sufferering they all endured in the moments where she couldn’t be standing right next to them

random headcanon: i think for a bit post-canon, after she and scanlan have split and VM doesn’t go adventuring anymore (percy and grog have gotten too old, and keyleth given more responsibilities), she travels as a wandering cleric for a while. she has a lingering wanderlust from her time as a sailor years ago, and regrets that she couldn’t go on as adventures with vox machina in the height of it all. she simply wanders, jumping from group to group, seeing the parts of tal’dorei she never got to. it’s bittersweet for her, because it’s never going to be the same no matter who she travels with, and she’s never going to get that time back - but she’s grateful for the people she meets, and grateful for the chance to indulge in this other aspect of herself

general opinion: UNDERRATED FAVE!! i didn’t realize just how much i love her until i was asked to list my fave VM characters in order, and she was easily right below vex and percy, if not on par with percy. she’s just so much fun, and she’s such a complex character!! she often gets mischaracterized as just the angelic mom friend of the group, and while she’s certainly sweet and certainly the mom, she’s also loud and cheeky and buff as hell!! she jokes around!!! she threatens literal gods if they even risk hurting her friends!! she’s such a badass and amazing character, one full of contradictions that i want to study so badly. i love her so much. pike trickfoot you will always be famous

27, 28, 31 for the Critical Role asks!

thanks!

27) What’s your favorite “How do you want to do this?” moment?

i mean “how do you, vox machina, want to do this” is always gonna be up there

jester getting three consecutive hdywtdts in c2e82 was hilarious

god i’m sure there’s so many good moments i’m just blanking on rn

but really anything where it’s been a long and difficult fight, or against an enemy they’ve been chasing for a while, or final bosses, like those are good moments

(also not technically a hdywtdt, but shoutout to "matt forgot his line!”)

28) What’s the most satisfying CR enemy defeat/death?

i feel like it’s almost cheating to say vecna, bc final boss, but that episode sure was something! scanlan’s counterspell and both the victory and tragedy in it, keyleth banishing him, everyone flying over a broken tower, it was amazing

other than that, thordak and raishan were both huge. the entire showdown with avantika is one of my favourite c2 moments. and yeah, sorta like my answer to the last question, any time you feel like they’ve really earned it, either because it’s been a hugely difficult fight or because someone pulled off something really clever

31) What’s your favorite CR platonic/friendly relationship?

for campaign 2, definitely molly and yasha. god they were so good and i wish we’d gotten to see more of them. it still hurts so much reading the explanations on ashley’s yasha playlist and crying over oh my god they were soulmates, platonic edition. love the circus kids.

campaign 1, i’m on the fence as to whether or not the twins count? bc they’re the best but that’s a sibling relationship, it’s more family than friends? so i think i’d have to say percy and keyleth. they’re the two babies of the group, they’re both like 23, they’re super close despite being such opposites, i love all the parallels between them and the conversations they have, the one in episode 56 about legacy is one of my favourite moments

but also just all the ridiculous conversations they have and the way they have fun together and this one exchange in ep 85 for the “i really want coffee cake right now percyyy”, i love them

Critical Role Thoughts

So to distract myself from current events, I started watching Critical Role. It was one of those shows where like three eps in I was like "Eh, this is fun, but I don't know it's engaging enough to keep watching" and now it's a month later and I've marathoned up to episode 48.

The show has made me laugh harder than any other canon in a while, but it's also got some amazing character development and emotional arcs, and I look forward to eventually catching up on the whole thing.

....also I sort of want to write a fic about a librarian who's a cleric of Oghma has been trying to set up a public library that hires Vox Machina to track down a stolen book from her collection, and shenanigans ensue. Mostly because Vex would cry over the terrible business model (what do you mean you let people borrow books and they DON'T PAY YOU?) and Grog would be very confused over this much fuss over a book. It doesn't even have any pictures!

So! Rambling thoughts on Critical Role up to ep 48 behind the cut.

I love everyone in this misfit family. Scanlan took a while to grow on me because I'm not a fan of poop jokes, but he's had such good character development with the Kaylee thing! Also his friendship with Grog is wonderful! I also love all of his songs, and feel like he needs to do more limericks, though I wouldn't mind Vex doing a few as well. And I hope they never let him live down that he flirted with his own daughter, haha.

It's amazing to me that Vex and Vax aren't played by real twins, because they interact so perfectly. I'm a twin myself and yeah, we talk to each other pretty much exactly like that. Also I love Vex and her greed, like, it shouldn't be so charming, but it is! My heart was in my throat when she died and they resurrected her. Also Trinket is great. I love him. Vax is a disaster, but I love him anyway, and am very worried about this whole Champion thing. Also I loved his thing with Gilmore and am a little sad that that seems to be over, even though I also enjoy Vax/Keyleth a lot as weirdos who deserve each other.

Keyleth tries so hard and is the least charismatic princess I've seen, but she's so great! I love how new she is the world (her betting on Grog during the Crucible fights was a thing of joy, and her occasional getting drunk on like one or two glasses were some of the best scenes), and how she tries to be the moral center of the group even if sometimes she goes a bit too far and comes off as sanctimonious. She's doing her best!

Grog! Man, honestly Grog makes me laugh the most? That time when he was bartering and Vex was off in the background going "I sense someone is losing a shitload of our money!!!" was beautiful. And we're getting into his backstory in the show, so I'm getting a bit emotional over him. Life in the herd sounds AWFUL, and I love that he's a Goliath with a heart. His plaintive "I wish Pike were here" broke my heart. But also can Scanlan and Pike please get that sword away from him? It's bad. Grog, it gave you a dream about killing Pike! THROW IT AWAY.

Percy! Percy, Percy, Percy. Does he make more or less terrible decisions than Vax? It's hard to say, honestly -- on the one hand you have his deal with the smoke demon, giving a cursed sword to Grog, and getting Vex temporarily killed, but on the other Vax pissed off the blackmarket gang in Emon and also seems to have sold his soul to a goddess, soooo -- but I do enjoy Percy a lot. And I sense he and Vex are going to be a thing, which pleases me. I really love their dynamic together! ...though I also started the show shipping Keyleth and Percy, whoops, but I guess they're meant as more siblings, the brother Keyleth never had and a sister for the one Percy thought he'd lost. I really enjoy his relationship with Cassandra and hope they get more interactions soon.

Pike! I am happy that Ashley Johnson is such a success on Blindspot, but I also long for whenever she gets a break from the show, because I love Pike's interactions with the group. She and Grog have such an amazing friendship, and I also enjoy her rebuttals of Scanlan. Also she kicks major ass.

How is Matt Mercer so amazing? How does he keep track of all the NPCs and their various accents?? My favorite is definitely Gilmore, but runner ups include Sherry, Victor the gunpowder merchant, Allura, and Kima. And Jarrett! I love how everyone is a little bit into Gilmore and Jarrett, and who wouldn't be, they're both super dreamy.

...I can't believe Emon got destroyed! And Westruun! And Keyleth's fire Ashari family! When Matt starts a new campaign, it's no holds barred, apparently. Like, Jesus, that was a rough couple of episodes. I legitimately teared up when they found Gilmore and Vax cradled him in his arms and Gilmore did the whole "Ah, I hoped your face would be the first thing I'd see after I died!" GILMORE FOUGHT A DRAGON FOR VOX MACHINA, YOU GUYS. WHAT A GUY.

And now it's time to watch Vox Machina try to grab more vestiges (hopefully with less fatal attempts) and Grog have to deal with his awful uncle. Uh, good thing I have the weekend off, because I am just sitting here watching like 10 hours straight of this show....