#Spider Queen wanted Dorian first

[topaz-mutiny]

I have to say, Dorian really truly fits with the group Bells Hells.

He's messy. He can be mean. And you cannot be a Bells Hells without some Severely Messed Up Damage like with what just happened here tonight.

Here's to you Dorian. Not just a pretty face meant to be the hot comforting shoulder to cry on, but just as fucked up as everyone else. A true Bells Hells.

[bread-wizards]

I actually think Dorian and Orym should fight more.

Remember when their slowly building tension over and entire episode (full of passive aggressive remarks and blame throwing) led to threats? And how after, Orym thanked Dorian for handing over the crown sadly because he knew Dorian would be mad at him? And Dorian couldn't even look at him because he was legitimately hurt, thinking Orym was disappointed in him for doing what he thought was right? That was peak.

The fact they went from that to their current closeness and trust is the best part of their entire dynamic. Their relationship was hard fought and still will be. They will fight for it because they respect and care for one another deeply, and their disagreements don't change that, only improve it.

[screechingfromthevoid]

I think the same reason I love Dorym is why I love Loquatious and Laerryn. One, the devotion of it all. But secondly, and more importantly, "But there's one story of a fairy who stumbled into this world and fell in love"

Because Dorian is an air genasi prince who left home to find something real. His home floats on wind and he's never wanted for a thing. And he came down from his clouds only to find himself stumbling, tumbling, into love with just a man.

There is something so earnest about a man who is considered magical and wondrous in a world that already has magic, falling in love with someone who just is.

It's a thought that scratches the back of my mind a lot. It goes hand in hand with Liam saying "he has no idea if Dorian returns his feelings". Because from Orym's point of view why would Dorian have feelings for him? Dorian. The beautiful blue prince who is extremely talented in both music and magic. Dorian is everything Orym admires in other people. Everything he doesn't see in himself.

But Dorian does have feelings for Orym. Because Orym is everything he's not. He's firm and reliable. He knows who he is and is unapologetic about it. Orym was the only one in the (original) Crown Keepers that wasn't tempted by the spider queen. Because he was too principled. He was too good. Dorian's alignment changed. Dorian felt himself getting worse. Yet Orym stayed steadfast. In the face of everything he did not change.

Their pursuits were the same. They wanted to protect their friends. At any cost. But Orym somehow stayed unchanged. He always knew the right way of doing things.

So the handsome prince fell in love with a guard and planned to stay with him until he no longer wanted the company.

I literally said to a friend "I know he leaves. But he is so devoted to Orym I don't know how they're going to get him to."

And it was the one thing neither could argue against. Family. Orym knew about family. He knew about duty.

But even a continent away Dorian couldn't stop thinking about Orym. His little tactician before he was the savior blade. Even when his world came crashing down, Orym called and he went.

Idk. I think there's something beautiful in the way that Dorian loves Orym. I think it is very reminiscent of the fey who stumbled into this world and fell in love. I think it will be a love that will always be with them. That they will have to recover from. A love they might have to mourn before they ever have it.

Even if they never... If there is no love confession, if they have to mourn the loss of the people they thought they were, if there's no way for them to be together; Dorian will always love Orym. In the same way Orym loves Will. First love often lingers.

[naazaif327]

Just to be clear on the state of things:

The Betrayers decided to side with the Primordials and kill all the mortals They created with the Primes. A war was fought, many mortals were slaughtered, and the Betrayers were not killed but sealed away. The Betrayers spent aeons trapped, plotting and scheming to escape, until they finally did manage to get out, and this time they decided that they didn’t just want to kill all the mortals, but torture them for eternity. A Great War was fought, many mortals were slaughtered and tortured, cultures and innovations and landscapes were turned to ash, and the Prime Deities once again refused to kill their siblings and instead sealed them away.

The betrayers spent the next thousand years plotting and scheming to pull themselves back into the material plane so they could defeat their siblings and torture mortal souls for all eternity. They even came close at least a few times, like the Crawling King’s attempt in Campaign 2. They’re still trying to get out and torture mortals for all eternity, and assuming Predathos is stopped, they will spend the rest of eternity trying to get out and torture mortals forever. If they ever do get out, the Prime Deities will (maybe) try to stop them but they will not kill their siblings and will always pull their punches, even if it means mortals will suffer.

Amidst this, mortals built a GodKiller weapon that might’ve actually killed the Betrayers that were trying to slaughter and torture them forever. In response, the Primes teamed up with their siblings to squash the entire city of Aeor while scolding them for reaching too far.

Now obviously Ludinus sucks, but assuming Predathos doesn’t just eat everyone and kill the universe, then that kinda doesn’t really matter to me. They succeed at stopping Predathos and then they can kill Ludinus or put him in jail or torture him or do whatever they think is justice. OR they fail at stopping Predathos and the gods all die and then they can still kill Ludinus. Either way they get their revenge.

But like, what other chance will mortals ever get besides now to kill the Betrayers who want to torture them for all eternity? If anyone tries to rebuild the GodKiller weapon, the gods will either smite them down or get their clerics and paladins and angels to kill them and destroy the weapon. The Primes will never ever let mortals kill the Betrayers (much less themselves). What other chance besides this does Dorian and every other mortals who was harmed or tortured or murdered by the Gods have for justice? The Gods created us and then turned on us and tried (and are still trying) to hurt us and kill us, but if things go on as they were the Spider Queen will never have to answer to Dorian for killing his brother or stealing his friend, unlike Ludinus.

And forget justice or revenge, is humanity to spend eternity carrying on like there isn’t a cage full of snarling feral dogs desperate to rip us to pieces sitting in the other room? Dogs that have broken out before and will do so again? Do I think Predathos or Ludinus are the best way to fix this? No, but beggars can’t quite be choosers.

If I were a mortal in Exandria who was shown the events of Downfall, my opinion would be that if the Prime Deities were ever put in a trolley problem situation where they had to choose between saving all mortals or the Betrayers, they would choose the Betrayers. And if that were the case, then maybe in our own version of this ethical dilemma (where we could get rid of the Betrayers but the Primes had to die too) it wouldn’t be so wrong to put our own safety first and let these old, tired, wounded divinities finally rest.

[elementalladymallorie]

"Could've been you. You could have put on the crown. And I wanted you first, but you were too much of a coward. Now your brother is dead and my favorite beast is turned against me. So I guess I'm going to have to make Opal count huh?"

-The Spider Queen's last jab to Dorian Storm

[weatherfey]

I think a lot about the way Dorian used to see Cyrus as the perfect older brother, the perfect prince; the way Dorian felt free to go and find himself because Cyrus was capable and dependable and ready to be a leader. That isn’t the Cyrus we see! But I think it’s a lot more interesting, for both Cyrus and Dorian, to take that seriously. They’re princes, and we don’t know what that means because we haven’t seen their home, but socially a court is an elaborately constructed farce. And of course it can be easier to be competent in any familiar environment, but I also think it’s easier to know how you fit within a court environment specifically because there is an overwhelming number of factors to define yourself against and they all have expectations of you, and if they aren’t suffocating you like some kind of spider’s web then it might be perfect, like being a star in a constellation, or just the right puzzle piece. I think it’s reasonable to think that Cyrus was something like who Dorian thought he was, at home; except that Cyrus, like Dorian, wanted to choose the things he’s defining himself against. And I think it’s meaningful that he got swindled in the immediate aftermath of discarding that constellation of puzzle pieces. He was a fool (beloved), but it happened in the first blush of freedom, when he was just starting to figure out who he was or wanted to be without all that defined expectation, which is also - not coincidentally - the state Dorian was in when the spider queen sunk her fingers into his heart and twisted his alignment. The ‘hello world! uh oh’ of it all is something they had in common.

(Something they both had in common with Opal, too.)

I do think it’s interesting to look at Dorian’s sense of responsibility in light of this. I almost think Orym was a kind of north star for Dorian through parts of EXU prime, and I ship them, but it really felt like one of the things that made him able to reject the spider queen is that Orym needed him to. I think he wanted to be someone Orym could rely on, but I think Orym’s regard mattered to him because they genuinely had that protective urge in common - the pathway the spider queen used to skitter in was Dorian’s desire to protect his friends. And that drive to protect added a lot of poignancy to the in-universe reason that Dorian couldn’t return to bell’s hells after Cyrus’s debts were repaid, not just because Cyrus was still getting his legs under him but also because Opal needed help. That’s responsibility, again - he’s finishing what they started. Duty, obligation, but this time he’s chosen who and what he’s beholden to. Like maybe he’s chosen a new version of a puzzle piece that he might have thought he was throwing out entirely when he chose freedom and walked away from home.

I loved that Fearne’s vision also haunted Dorian; he misses her, and it also feels like a solid way to illustrate the spider queen’s effect on Dorian, that the danger of his own corruption has rarely been something he had the luxury to think about. His friends have always needed him. I don’t know if he had time to process his aborted fall during his time in Zephrah, or if there’s still something underneath, but I think it’s telling that this fear doesn’t look like Opal, the one literally bleeding ichor from her forehead; it predates that, it started before Opal was the one to worry about.

And I think he knows he didn’t fail them - Cyrus, Opal, Fy’ra - accidental thunder damage notwithstanding - but, with the way he felt through that suggestion spell and its aftermath, I don’t really know what to make of his abandoning Dariax. It’s a little hard to look at that and not see a drive to isolate. Determined to leave him with a good memory, but most of all, to leave. He started that one-shot interlude having just admitted to himself that he was longing to be Somewhere Else, but I almost wonder if he still would have gone back to bell’s hells if Orym hadn’t asked.

(God, the suggestion spell. The way they processed it was hurtful to me personally. Dariax immediately shifting from ‘won’t leave Opal!’ to ‘let’s go! Opal has a plan’ kind of broke my heart, and I actually think that the spell could have worked on Dorian by just making what was really happening feel reasonable - the last shred of your friend is trying to save you, and you can’t save her from anything except becoming your murderer, so you should do that. But the spell can’t make sense out of abandoning Cyrus’s body, so Dorian just goes numb with grief and rage. Mass suggestion is 24 hours. That is 24 hours of numbness, and rage, and walking, and walking, and walking, and every once in awhile Dariax’s voice, friendly and steady and sure, ‘Opal has a plan.’ And at the end of it the ability to feel returns, but he’s so tired, and he hurts, and everything hurts too much to think about, and poor Dariax probably stops in his tracks, just ‘Dorian? What was Opal’s plan?’)

And he really was so angry. It’s interesting to wonder if that’s still under the surface. He immediately turned to levity - for their sake, and his own - but that moment where the group tells him who killed Will and Derrig, and Robbie instantly wrote down Otohan’s name, didn’t just read like a player taking notes, to me, it read like Dorian putting a name in a ledger. I think it’s easy to let that go because he learns that she’s dead in the very next moment, but I think Dorian felt a weird kind of relief for that half-second, because so much of his anger at what happened to Cyrus and Opal was from being forced to acknowledge that there wasn’t anyone easy to blame, except perhaps a god; and blaming a god is like blaming the universe. What a relief, however short lived, to be faced with a problem you can solve.

[fragmentofpossibilitybeacon]

somewhat disjointed mildly academic thoughts on our sweet blue bard;

(and this took me re-watching c3e93 and taking NOTES, and while I'm re-listening to c3e108, yay beacon bit life)

I get the vibe that Dorian sees himself as being stuck watching divinity yank around his closest loved ones and I wonder if there's a touch of fatalism woven into there.

Divinity Yanking; let's just go with the Crown Keepers first off. Opal? Taken forcibly as the Champion of the Spider Queen. Fy'ra? Champion of the Wildmother. Morri? Champion of the Matron of Ravens. Dariax? Divine soul sorcerer with ties to The Observer. Cyrus? Murdered by a spider of the Spider Queen. Fearne? ::gestures wildly to shards and Zathuda:: Orym? Not only blessed by the Wildmother, also the savior blade of (arguably) incarnate divinity in Exandria.

When you bring in the rest of Bells Hells, there's a whole lot more divinity yanking going on.

(Side note; OYE I just hit Ashton stalking out after the coin flip thing. Oof, low blow Orym my love. OOF.)

fatalism - noun - fa·​tal·​ism ˈfā-tə-ˌli-zəm : a doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change them

Dorian went from being the second son, the true spare that would eventually be free to pursue more of his own life, to having the weight of his entire people on his shoulders and, oh yeah, the fate of all Exandria on his shoulders. He's both fighting for agency and simultaneously feeling it erode. That's CLASSIC fatalism. (CHET OMG WITH THE EVERYTHING BREAKS DOWN WHEN YOU DON'T TALK)

(DORYM SNUGGLES. ACK. He still seeks Dor out for wordless comfort. WOULD YOU TWO JUST TALK DANG IT.)

(also vibes Ashton, I too need to walk TF away before I start fights. I'm conflict averse by nature but you make me mad enough, the redhead will come out.) ANYHOW, Dorian wants so badly to still believe in the good and free will, but he's been burnt AF. (BRAIUS your Scanlan-level bard is showing.)

(more later when my brain cooperates.)

[thisisnotthenerd]

not going to spoil anything outside the cut but the beacon membership is absolutely worth it if you're a 2x adhd girlie like me and want to get sleep before 2 am on thursday nights.

might go back tomorrow for a rewatch, but hell yeah. plus it streamlines combat indecision. the only thing i miss is the pre-stream music, but i can always tune into twitch for that and then start the ep when i want to. anyway:

great episode. i loved the hells needling at ludinus: the witches straight up poking holes in his ideas, orym going fuck you, ashton and dorian contemplating a new world order but still hating him, braius advocating for his deity, and chetney shooting through the door with questions about molaesmyr. every time he tried to sidestep a question from chet you know it's about some good shit.

also they run the gamut of kill the gods vs not: dorian in favor because of what he saw with the spider queen, ashton leaning into some primordial thought processes, braius hating the primes, chetney mostly concerned with the effects on exandria, laudna questioning ludinus' denied god complex, imogen considering their flaws as compared to mortals, fearne seeing their relationships, and orym neutral but considering the unknowns and the implications of making that choice for everyone on exandria.

ludinus giving them the arcane battery to deliberately trigger delilah. what the fuck matt. but also, excellent way to force a confrontation with her before more shit goes down.

it's a small moment, but ashton leaving a shard of fcg in aeor and saying welcome home.

the preservation of the soul anchor giving them the possibility to remove and bind delilah, we don't know what will happen to laudna if delilah is removed. i'm of the opinion that she could survive on her own sorcery because of the nature of the shadow sorcerer subclass, but is serving as a sort of phylactery for delilah, while she retains the pact. she's not in a place where i think she would take a different patron, so we'll see how it goes. i personally hope they can remove her, and then laudna gets a chance to be truly alone in her own mind for the first time in 30 years.

also, sam's back! braius has an interesting perspective that he's fully invested in; having that kind of commitment as an aspect of his character provides a good contrast against some of the vague aimlessness of the hells. it's good. it's fine. i'm sure this will all turn out great. the voice does remind me of tary.

[inconmess]

In all seriousness, in the whole Predathos conversation that happened today, a couple of things stuck out to me. I mean, most points are valid in certain perspectives and they may seem wrong but justifyingly, from the POV of who said it, it makes sense

One

Dorian with the whole "I trust us to more than I trust anyone else" mentality. True. You should trust your group to watch your back and make choices and all that. But you also put the same trust with the Crown Keepers when you took the Crown. You said the same thing when the argument of what to do with the crown happened. You kept it. And actions have consequences. Now, the Spider Queen may not have gone off the rails like that if not for the circumstances. A lot of circumstances certainly went on in the background for whatever shit that went down to happen. But it all happened because you retained the crown because you trusted no one else to keep it.

And now you say that you trust no one else than the group, this time talking about putting a god eater into the body of your friend and trusting her to control it. After watching a god take over your friend and watching her struggle to control and killing your brother and separate your friends. You trusted your friend with a Vestige then. I know it is a Betrayer God but what is the guarantee that a god eater is not equally, if not more overwhelming?

Two, as much as the Bells Hells want to be like "Let's finish with Ludinus first before going to figure out what to do with the gods", the two are linked. There isn't going to be much time to sit and ponder on what to do after the fact because repercussions are going to hit hard and fast. I do hate that most of the options they are getting are kinda siding with what Ludinus wants to achieve, which makes them hypocrites if they do pursue it?

Plus I have a lot of thoughts but they are all getting incoherent but I do want to say, talking to more gods seem like a good option but being indecisive is not an option anymore and whatever they decide, they have to do it quick. Granted, most options they are given are vague and filled with uncertainties and a lot of risks but tough choices are always like that. But combining all your options for optimal idea is not a bad idea? idk. Gut Feeling doesn't cut it. Intuition doesn't cut it. SO Collect more facts and make it work! Loved Orym and Chet's points today.

[that-cartoony-villain]

i have some thoughts after the first ep of downfall

i really like that they have the deities disguised as human trying to shut down aeor and the beginning with their possible creation and light vs darkness was incredible

but as much as i think the binary message was a cool little touch to make it easier to figure out which gods they are, i kinda wish they didn't do that

for people that dont know exandrias pantheon, seeing those words kind of dont mean anything to them because they wouldnt know what each god is a deity of

but at the same time for critters who know the lore it became very easy to figure out who is whom by the hints the cast and brennan were throwing around without them saying like "oh hi I'm [blank] god"

the raven queen was the easiest solely because we've had more time with her in c1 and other campaigns too since death is kind of inevitable

dawnfather was a slow build and then very much you couldnt ignore that it was him once nick said "it's not dark" like the little mf that pelor is /pos

melora was also fun to figure out because animals are her thing and then she got the most upset when erathis didnt show up like the yearning little lesbian that she is

arch heart was also a slow build up to figure out, they needed to be rigid and play their part so the others could get on board, they couldnt stop themselves of visiting the city of creation, they see beauty everywhere, they're just as much of a little shit as i imagined they would be also /pos

law bearer's envoy (champion?) was easy to figure out because of meloras reaction and also for The Emissary's lines about helping civilization, he was sent to be their salvation, maybe she knows it's inevitable for the city to fall and wants to preserve as much as she can (he might be the one to send out the blue bubbles who knows)

and then we have the everlight, at first i thought ashley was playing ioun, the husband talked about her being a teacher but then you have these subtleties in their lines - asmodeus talking about her not having followers, the dawnfather's care for his sister, her compassion - and everything made sense, even her light being name Luz is just Light translated from some romance languages

then we have the npcs: ioun was easy enough to figure out from the get go, brennan was also very explicit about who she is, and the betrayers were very fun to figure out, we don't have all the knowledge about them all but asmodeus, the father of lies, choosing to be Father Milo and a cleric of the Dawnfather just to fuck with him is an incredible choice, Torog being the torturer but also the most tortured and fucked up looking is such beautiful imagery, and the other two we don't have that much but i assume the halfling is Lolth, since she enjoys the darkest corners and climbing things, while the other one might be Tiamat, just cause it makes sense for me that she would be a heavy hitter

this is all to say that brennan and the cast did a wonderful job in this first ep with the imagery and subtle (and not so subtle) references to each character in a way that fans can figure out who is each person and newcomers can learn their personalities slowly and figure out the dynamics with the time we get to see

because we need to remember, this is bells hells watching this, and many of them have no knowledge about the gods beside a few that they've met their champions, fcg followed the changebringer, orym, fearne and dorian have met the wildmother and the spider queen, laudna has some connection to the matron and they now met a champion and a follower of asmodeus, both of which they havent asked much about the prince of hell

this is as much for them to meet the deities as it is for us to see the downfall of one of the most important cities in the Age of Arcanum

[acourtofthought]

Contains TOG spoilers........

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But first....... Lucien ☀️🔥

Thoughts slammed into me, images and memories, a pattern of thinking and feeling that was old, and clever, and sad, so endlessly sad and guilt-ridden, hopeless—

"all the sounds that Lucien so carefully sorted through while he kept watch."

Like Rhys, he usually opted for words to win his battles.

“I trust in the fact that we currently have possession of the one thing he wants above all else. And as long as that remains, he’ll try to stay on our good side. But if that changes …"

"His talent was wasted in the Spring Court."

"There was a reason he had that fox mask, you know."

No wonder he’d been so eager to head alone into Velaris that day he’d gone to help us research. I shot a look at Rhys. Seems like Lucien can still play the fox.

“Lucien can’t be entirely trusted anymore.”. “Lucien might mean well, but any reports would be skewed—even if he isn’t aware of it—in their favor.

Lucien stared out the window—as if he could see the lake across a sea and a continent. As if he were setting his target.

“Eyes can be blinded,” Nesta said. “Not the ones under my command,” Azriel said with soft menace.

"Lucien will never be good enough"

“There are others in your court as delusional as you are. They’ll get it for me one way or another, with the right incentive.

I'd be surprised if we don't get a super clever scheme in Elucien's book, courtesy of Lucien.

SJM has previously said Dorian and Lucien would be great friends and we know that Dorian was not only extremely powerful with raw power that be could shape as he desired but he was also very cunning. In KOA, he took two of the Wyrdkeys and tracked down Maeve to find the third. Maeve asked Dorian to work with her, explaining that she wants the keys so she can get rid of Erawen and his brothers for good.

Dorian agrees, asking her to bring the spiders to his side and he will marry her, giving her a new Kingdom to rule over.

In a later chapter, Maeve slips into Dorians mind, using her powers to control him but the entire time he's been tricking her, using her own power against her (a Valg!) to learn how hers actually work, taking over her mind instead.

There's already notable similarities between Dorian and Lucien, their polished persona's, their fathers both had them held down and forced them to watch the execution of the woman they loved, unknown magical powers, hints at Lucien being extremely powerful as Dorian was powerful, and their intelligence.

SJM has also pointed out how Rhys and Lucien share a likeness in how they use their words to fight battles and we know Rhys often schemes, having others question his intentions only to find out he had some wildly clever plot going the whole time.

I could easily see her having Lucien do something similar. Maybe he'll have a plan for Koschei or the Human Queens that he didn't inform the others of, something Elain becomes suspicious about and starts following him (Mr. and Mrs. Smith anyone? It would be even better if this followed the arranged marriage trope 😂).

The others acknowledge Lucien is clever and insightful yet they still underestimate him. You can tell they look at him as a tool for when it benefits their own purpose rather than viewing him as an equal, a force to be reckoned with.

I'd also love if it led to Az eating a bit of humble pie. He's so certain of Lucien being unworthy, imagine if Lucien managed to outsmart Az and his shadows.

[pippastrelle]

Bulletpoint liveblog of C3E91 let's go!

Second half: Crown Keepers

Oh, is this where the Crownkeepers come in? I heard that. Haha I always wonder what it's like at the studio hiding the fact that, like, Robbie is there.

AABRIA! God, I want to know how her hair and makeup is done. It's so different and so cool nearly every time I see her. She's got such style.

Moment to appreciate the music they play during the art reel at the end of the break.

CROWNKEEPERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I actually never fully watched Kymal so the bunny woman was a surprise XD

The collaborativeness is nice, asking Anjali about her sister.

ahahaha god this platform. DON'T WHIPLASH MY EMOTIONS LIKE THIS! I'M CRYING OVER ORYM AND ALL!

….Me not having watched Kymal might confuse me for the next two hours.

Black lipstick will never not get me. Aimee.

Is Dorian going to reply to Orym's message??????

Good on Matt for starting off.

(Pleeeeease may they say this woman's name). Her character's Morrighan. Whoa, a champion of the Matron of Ravens.

The Crownkeepers have been having a real swell time.

(Fy'ra Rai has always been a great name to say). So, sent by the Wildmother to protect them.

Aww, Dorian feeling some consequences of his avoidance.

From an above-table perspective, I'm surprised they're all feeling so lost? I wonder if it was planned and if Aabria's going to suddenly give them a direction, or if they're reticent to set too much in stone?

OPAL'S BETRAYER GOD CHAMPION DESIGN IS SO SICK; I LOVE IT!

Sleep as an exhausting void… Creepy.

"Can I hear him?" "Make a wisdom save." Terrifying. "Shouting at you while running backwards." What a description.

I do love Opal, too. Such a situation but still trying to retain that image of her.

"We gotta get these chuckles out not." Whimper in terrified player.

I love Aabria's GM-ing in a lot of other things (ACOFAF is S-tier), but I think this highlights why I found EXU Prime harder to get into. The Crownkeepers tend to lack a motivating goal from the off-set, making it a bit hard for me to figure what they're trying to do and why.

Still, starting off with PVP might be the wakeup!

HA! Matt Mercer doing the ad read. Love it.

Spider Queen is intimidating and poor, poor Opal.

Holy shit, Opal's raising into the air and burning the forest. Hahaha make Aimee choose which friend to destroy. Awwww forcing her into PvP!

Goddddddd Aabria is the Betrayer God here.

Black eyessssssss. Magic second set of arms.

God, imagine being Aimee rn.

27 on initiative??????

THE DARIAX ROLLS RETURN!

At least Opal can communicate her panic.

HASTE ON OPAL???? HA! VENMO TO HASTE THE ENEMY!

The Dariax rolls balance Morrighan's.

Aw, sweet with Morrighan and Opal whispering telepathically.

Amazing image of stone cold Opal in contrast.

I like how Matt and Aabria pop in with lessons for the others. Nice to see players propping each other up.

CRYSTAL RAPIER? NICE!

"She's just a little guy."

Absolutely fair, seeing weird shit for your Betrayer God Champion friend and just wanting to knock her the fuck out.

Kind of Anjali to tally up the numbers as they roll.

Eeeeeek, ripping a rapier down her thigh.

OPAL DOESN'T TAKE THE DAMAGE????? IS THAT A REACTION OR????

TED!

Hahaha "if Opal did crossfit".

(I googled it. Morrighan is played Erica.)

Oh christ Ted's helping. I wonder how much Morrighan knows about Ted.

"NONONO STOP!" as verbal component for Shield is fantastic.

I don't trust that this is Ted?? Does Ted know Opal's fucked right now??

"Why's the first thing you do drawing blood?" Well, because it's D&D.

Haste lets you go get a hotdog from Arby's. Vax knew this well.

Aabria's English accent is so American-version-of-English but I like how it sounds anyway.

Let the ashhole return, cowards!

Yeah, Robbie, this is a weird situation. Dorian's just choking on his flute. Yeah, trying to restrain Opal is a good plan. NO! NAT 20 minus 1 + 4 plus 13. Aimee/Opal, go! Get! It!

Nice, Aabria, failing forward is a lesson we can all incorporate.

NAT ONE PLUS 13?? ROBBIE! Cannot catch a break.

T_T Fy'ra being betrayyyyyed again. Ooh, very very cool from Anjali calling for a flashback.

(We still never got the response to Orym. Has that happened yet or it that going to be the bookend? I'm curious what this is going to mean for the actual campaign. It's a really fun idea to bring in another GM for a section. Sure, more Actual PlayTM than homegame but Matt at least gets to play.)

Haha Anjali welcome to the DM club! I know about this from the Ginny Di video. Anjali DMed an official lego game.

Can they free Opal?

Ohhh. The Wildmother wants this? Am I misunderstanding? Shit.

They can't separate Opal from the crown.

Love how different people set their dice.

Never take advice from GM Aabria :P

Holy shit these guys roll high.

I hardly ever see people take the dodge action.

I do like Opal a lot.

So the Spider Queen is just trying to full take over Opal. I wonder if Teven or the other Betrayer God Champion had this sort of thing happen.

GO AWAY FOREVER??? THEIR MOTHER DID THIS TO OPAL AND TED?? Evalux? A splinter group? I'M SO CONFUSED AND INTRIGUED! THE BEACON'S INVOLVED??? How tf did they get it in Byroden? So there's a splinter of Luxon followers who split themselves in one life instead? God, I hope the main cast get to watch this.

…..And Opal has no memory of it. Will we ever get this information?

Erica continues to roll like a god.

The turns have felt both long and fast. I've still got, like, an hour and a half.

I love how Matt describes/contextualises things, even as a player.

HA! CYRUS IS HERE?!

ROLL PERFORMANCE FOR HANDJOB

A 7!!!!!

Bless is good. Dariax panicking is great.

XD God initiative takes a long time in a big group.

THE ROLLS! THE DARIAX ROLLS!

Ah! Dariax is a bard! Yeah! So cuuuute for the Double Ds. "THE PERFORMING ARTS IS WORTH IT!"

So. All of them are blind in the darkness. Awesome, awesome move, Aimee.

Hahhahahahaha right. Warlock. No spell slots.

XD It's such a long game. No loo breaks.

SQUIRREL SPIDER FTW

Gotta love Cyrus. "NO DON'T SHOOT!" The himbo persists.

….Matt, what did you get for the WIS save?

PALADIN COMES IN FOR THE SAVE!

Hahahaha "that could can see". Okay. Blind mistystep? …..I'm sure 8 will get it.

Aww, attacking your friend's going to leave a bad taste in your mouth. Lay on Hands is good.

I appreciate Aabria's helpfulness as a GM.

Fy'ra good teammate.

Opal, again, is amazing. I love how she tackles such complex things in her very Her way. Preserves drama and humour in her self-absorbtion.

I wonder how Opal washes her hair under that crown?

Well, some allowance for fighting when Opal attacked them? Obvs harder emotionally than logically.

Aww everyone got to see the memory of Opal and Morrighan bonding.

HA! LOVE FY'RA BEING COMMANDER!

Dorian is forever clanking with all the instruments he carries. T_T 9 to dispel fails. Good plan though. Until back into the darkness he goes.

I like the idea of going back to the Crownkeepers, especially as a perspective on Opal and Dorian, but I'm two hours into this section and still don't quite get the full significance of it. Which is a shame. I still have faith, but I think this encounter would be more enjoyable if I understood better why we were seeing it in the Bell's Hells campaign.

I've always respected Opal/Aimee going in on being the asshole sister. Getting to see that perspective.

The gem flashbacks are cool.

"We can both be coins." "And we're richer for it!" Amazing. Great pun. Love Fy'ra. Love Ted coaching Opal.

Max offering blind Dariax up on a plate. Respect.

I LOVE MATT AS DARIAX! SO FUNNY!

Con sorcerer is smart.

Aabria has no luck against Dariax.

I'm sure that 9 WIS will help perception.

BARDIC COMES IN CLUTCH!

DIMENSION DOOR IS A BONUS ACTION?!

I. Love. Opal. Aimee plays her and her struggles and her relationships with everyone so well and nuanced. Dariax is a well-done character too. Real even behind the humour.

I leapt too, Aimee. Holy shit what the fuck, Spider Queen?

(Fuck you, Twitch, for skipping, my god).

Oh god, Cyrus, don't die.

Nooooo, Dariax. Living nightmares. Him and Dorian seeing their nightmares.

Spider Queen Opal wtf.

Pick up next week? Huh. I… am confused by this. Interesting encounter. I liked the drama between the Crown Keepers. But, again, I don't understand the significance for the Bell's Hells? So I reckon next week will be first half Crown Keepers, second half Bell's Hells. Huh. Interesting episode. It was fun, though I really don't deny still being on the edge of my seat to find out what's happening with the BH.

[gobliiine]

“It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. And you are a good man. we’ve seen all the proof we need.”

listen im not saying orym was saying this but. Dorian leaves home for the first time, shirks his duties and responsibilities and the person that his parents wanted, expected him to be, and there’s guilt there. There’s fear that you’re not enough, that you’re a bad person. that you’re letting everyone down. and he makes friends somehow but he lies to them every day and he puts his foot in his mouth on the regular and he’s doing his best but it’s hard to be a person, he can’t seem to get it right

And then the spider queen talks to you and she offers you deals and you think, maybe I can’t do anything else but I can protect these people with everything I have.

His whole alignment changed (permanently I think)?????? And he loses part of himself for them??! And maybe he never gets it back???? But it’s worth it for his memories, for the chance at enough power to save his friends

and orym tells him to put the crown down, and he’s just looking out for him but it’s also like. Why don’t you trust me to do this? Why am I not good enough?! What if I’m not a good person after all???????

idk. idk where I’m going with this. but like???

[brondoesart]

Do you guys remember when Cyrus was this confident, competent older brother Dorian felt like he could never compare to?

The spider queen teasing him about how he'd never be good enough compared to Cyrus?

He was an intelligent man in line to rule a country, but trusted too easily when trying to help people for the first time in his own and got betrayed by his companions and saddled with an insane bounty as a result.

Dorian and Cyrus had these fascinating parallels in the ways that they'd really fucked up but Dorian has friends helping him along the way and Cyrus had nobody.

I thought his story was about how even someone tutored and strong and brave and smart could end up really struggling when all his resources were lost. How desperate it could make someone want to make things right and how that only made him more vulnerable.

Or at least that's what I thought it was. I guess I was wrong

Idk. Apparently now the story is "Cyrus was so, so stupid, we didn't even bother to level him up, may he rest in peace"

I don't know what rules were set for what Aabria needed to accomplish during her dming but killing Cyrus felt so forced to me?

Like, they didn't know what else to do with the character and decided "hey, let's just kill him for Dorian's development, it'll be angsty" and I mean I guess it was but. Darn.

I'm really missing the dignity that Cyrus used to be portrayed with.

Feel free to eat me alive for the take I just thought he was deeper and more interesting than what he got by the end.

[masterqwertster]

#29 tell me the truth and #5 I don't know if I can forgive for Opal/Orym and their soulmates in the soulbloom AU if possible?

Sorry for the wait. The prompts were fighting me on receiving a canon aligned moment per the Soul Bloom AU, but I finally figured it out. This is when the Crown Keepers spilt up so Orym (and Dorian and Fearne) can answer the Tempest's call to Zephrah. 29 "Tell me the truth." 5 "I don't know if I can forgive."

"I know you're probably getting tired of me asking, but are you sure you have to go to Zephrah? Like, be truthful, you're not going back to get, like, punished because I've got a Betrayer God in my head now, right?" Opal asks, nervously twirling Orym's druidcrafted replica of her new soul bloom: a dark, dark pink rose when they used to be a light pink like her shirt.

"No. That's not why," Orym says with a wry smile, stilling her hands with his smaller ones. "The Voice of the Tempest has a mission for me. One that I'm very personally connected to and very interested in taking."

"I just... I want to help, but with this whole mess," she gestures to the dark, spiked circlet on her head, the residents new and old in her mind. "...I'm not sure I can be the help you need without figuring out Ted and the Queen first."

Orym gives her a lopsided grin.

"Everyone needs a chance to figure themself out. Yours is just a little more involved." He pats her hand. "It's just part of growing up, and I'm glad your making serious considerations about it."

"Thanks," Opal whispers with a small, shy smile. "...Hey, why is this mission so personal to you?"

Orym looks at his young soulmate before him, the burden literally weighing down her head... and decides she doesn't need the full burden of his past and his heartache to worry about in addition to her own problems.

"Zephrah was attacked around six years ago now, and good people were killed that day. People I cared about. I can't forgive the assassins who did it, but we haven't had any leads on who they are, where they are, or why they did it. Until now. That's going to be my mission: to find these assassins and their purpose," Orym says with all the conviction of the soldier he was is.

Opal's eyes on him are searching. She's well-aware she's the baby of this soulmate group thanks to Fearne's time soup situation. That being the youngest means the others will try to shelter her (they'll lie and lie and lie to you and say it's for your own good, is the Spider Queen's silken whisper).

And she thinks Orym isn't lying...

But he's not telling the whole truth either.

The steel in his eyes... there's something more, something deeper to the story.

Her eyes slip over to Dariax, who has chosen to stay with her, support her. Dariax, who takes his soulmates at their word and keeps things (relatively) simple.

...Opal can follow his example.

"Well, good luck then, I guess," Opal says with a slightly forced smile. "I hope you get them, and they don't get you."

"That's the plan," Orym agrees with a sardonic grin.

"You better still poke us. No sending just battle blooms," she demands.

"Always," he nods.

Opal wraps Orym up in the biggest hug she can.

"Be safe," she whispers in his ear, holding back tears.

"You too," he chokes out, just as emotional.

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: Major Character Death Category: M/M Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Relationships: Orym/Dorian Storm, Orym/Will | Orym’s Spouse (Critical Role) Characters: Orym (Critical Role), Dorian Storm, Laudna (Critical Role), Ashton Greymoore, Will | Orym’s Spouse (Critical Role), Derrig (Critical Role), Imogen Temult, Fearne Calloway, Lolth the Spider Queen (Critical Role), Chetney Pock O'Pea Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Dark Souls (Video Game) Fusion, Alternate Universe - Evil, Corruption, Canon-Typical Violence, Blood, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Last Moments, Goodbyes, Angst, Major Character Injury, Impersonation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Asphyxiation, Hostage Situations, Hurt/Comfort, Temporary Character Death, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Mind Control, Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Dissociation, Panic Collections: Whumptober 2022

Summary: Collection of prompt fills for Whumptober 2022 with specific tags listed at the beginning of each chapter.

Day 26. Carried to Safety

Relationships: Dorym

Characters: Orym, Dorian, Imogen

Tags: Major Character Injury, Anxiety, Panic, Hurt/Comfort

Chapter Preview

“Dorian?” The voice coming through the sending stone sounded weak and full of pain, causing his heart to break in his chest as he clutched the stone tighter. “I'm... stuck. Can't get out. Think it's crushing me. It hurts. Breathing is hard. A lot of blood. Don't know where I am. Love.”

He pushed his body to move faster in a desperate attempt to get to the collapsed building that had to be where Orym was. It had been a stupid idea for the group to separate, even more stupid for Orym to go off by himself. He should have insisted that they go together, like he had wanted to in the first place before the others talked him out of it. Now, Orym was alone and in pain and he could only hope to reach him in time.

“Orym, keep breathing. Please.” While he wanted nothing more than to immediately use all the words he could to reassure Orym, he needed to drag them out until he reached the building. “I'm coming. I'll get there soon.”