#also i really like dariax/orym

[cringefaecompilation]

you know, actually. we don't talk about lgbt icon dariax zaveon enough. he's in love with dorian. he's in love with orym. he bagged a bad bitch that he still loves even though he can't remember if they broke up or not. orym said his ass is nice. he casually does drag. who is doing it like him.

[divinesouldariax]

have i mentioned i finished The Path We Walk here yet?

[cassafrasscr]

Hear me out. Orym absolutely has a type, and it’s himbos.

For the sake of clarity: Himbo = big, strong, kind, and dumb as a post. 😂

To be clear, I know Orym’s INT stat is nothing worth writing home about at 13. He’s technically above the civilian NPC average of 10, but he only gets a +1 modifier. HOWEVER... when you compare Orym to the rest of his friends, he's consistently among the smartest in terms of stats. He's literally tied with MISTER for the highest INT in the Crown Keepers, lol.

Will - Granted, we don't really know very much about what Will was like, but we can extrapolate based on a few crucial details. Will trained in swordsmanship with Orym, and they were in the Tempest Blades together - meaning Will's class was probably Fighter (maybe multi-classed with Druid, but definitely at least a Fighter). If that's the case, INT was probably his dump stat.

Will was half-elven, so probably tall (not that the bar is very high for Orym at 3'3"... literally).

He probably also had decent strength. Especially if he was anything like Derrig, who had a STR stat of 18.

Dorian - Sweet, gentle, and charming. Tall (around 6 feet), with surprisingly high STR for a primary spellcaster (College of Swords Bard, baby!)

Not unintelligent per se (he's technically above the civilian average of 10), but not especially bright by PC standards. Has an INT stat of 12, which is 1 less than Orym’s. Definitely at least an Honorary Himbo, if not a True Himbo. Plus, his brother Cyrus is definitely a himbo, so clearly it runs in the family.

Ashton - I think most people wouldn't classify Ashton as a true himbo, and I am inclined to agree. Himbos are typically nice to people, and Ashton is not particularly nice before you get to know them. That said, Ashton is kind, particularly to people in unfortunate circumstances ("Never steal copper", how gentle they were with Professor Sumal after Ludinus scrambled her brain, etc.)

As Orym said to Ashton in e79: "Despite your stony exterior, you have a soft heart."

Ashton stands at 5'10" in his regular form, and just shy of 8' in his newly revealed Titan form, so he ranges from tall to Xtra Tall. And as a Barbarian, STR is naturally their best stat. Ashton actually has pretty decent intelligence for a Barbarian, with an INT stat of 12 (same as Dorian), but it is also still lower than Orym’s by 1.

Dariax - I'll be honest, Dariax is really only here because Orym once confessed to checking out his butt and liking what he saw, lol.

ANYWAY, Dariax has peak Himbo Energy TM. He's a little chaotic, sure, but Dariax is friendly, affectionate, and surprisingly charming. His STR is actually decent for a Sorceror at 14. Plus, with an INT of 8 and a WIS of 9, he is officially in Dumb-as-a-Bag-of-Hair territory, lol. Dariax isn't super tall, being a Dwarf, but Dwarves are still taller than Halflings by around a foot on average.

So yeah. Orym likes men, and he likes them tall, strong, nice, and none too bright. 😂

[inconmess]

Now that I have some time to collect my thoughts after the exam, here are some of the thoughts that have been running through my head.

Ashton is straight up not giving any shit about Liliana

Orym tries but it is really hard for him and I loved watching the two of them snap and not cut corners today.

Other than that, I loved Imogen's stance on Liliana on a technical standpoint, not trusting her but at the same time cooperating enough to try keep her on your side as an inside man? Genius.

Liliana is in too deep on the other hand, maybe not about the motives of the Vanguard but on the release of Predathos in itself. Like Ashton pointed out correctly, she is self delusional and if she doesn't remove those tinted glasses, she's gonna lose her daughter.

Also, what the fuck is wrong with her??? Leaving them all in the state they are in at a very likely active warzone and vanishing? Yeah, I suppose it took some power but she could at least ensure their safety??

Orym with Otohan's sword and storming off *chefs kiss*

Finally some emotional check-ins going on, clearning the air out. Though I am curious about Laudna and her comparing them all to being creations. I mean, in a sense, it is true I suppose...

Imogen is "destined" to release Predathos as it is a part of her.

Chetney was turned into a werewolf

FCG was literally built

Fearne was specifically made to be born on one of the Ruidian flares. And Fearne taking up the Shard also, I suppose.

Ashton was in a ritual which made them Earth Genasi and then later on were literally patchworked by Milo

Laudna was merged with Delailah and is technically kind of her vessel of sorts

I think Orym isn't the only one who wouldn't fit under the "creation of destiny" or "has been created" thing unless I am missing something...

Orym and Imogen's convo and how the two of them talk about family and his partial breakdown at the situation (I miss FCG too 😭)

And finally the sending and Orym's cry for help 😭😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Someone give that man a hug?!!!

Speaking of Dorian, I love how the episode cut to the Crown Keepers after the sending and personally, it made sense for it to come at that particular point.

Listen, I would've loved to have some more time with the Bells Hells and their grieving but. But.

Orym, in his last message to Dorian (which he had received and is headed to Zephrah as a response btw) asked him to meet Keyleth, so chances are, at the time the Hells came back, Dorian is at least halfway, if not having reached Keyleth.

If that were to be the case, there is a high possibility that the Crown Keepers are with Keyleth when the Hells are meeting up with her. and narratively, there is some shit going on with the Crown Keepers that are still unaddressed and just can't be brushed off lightly.

Maybe, maybe Matt had been planning on introducing them much later in the episode. But Orym's sending also gave a perfect opening because Matt (or Robbie) cannot send a reply as Dorian without knowing the outcome of whatever is going down with the Crown Keepers, as seen in this episode.

Therefore, the sudden cutback to the Crown Keepers made total sense in a narrative manner because at this point, if Dorian is going to be actively involved henceforth, the Crown Keepers are dragging along. Opal and the Spider Queen influence what will happen in the future quite a lot more than I think many may expect because

a) Opal has personal ties with Orym and Fearne and

b) the way the Spider Queen is going about the fight, if something bad happens and if someone is hurt super bad, Orym and Fearne have to know too, just like Dorian needs to know about FCG.

and c) Well, most of the Crown Keepers are involved with the Gods. Fy'ra with the Wildmother, Morri with the Duskmaven and Dariax with the Observer.

And with the recent lore bomb pointing towards Aeor, I am pretty sure the hells are going to follow up on that just for FCG's sake (maybe even call in F.R.I.D.A for the ride, please call in F.R.I.D.A!)

I am pretty sure I am spiralling at this point but at the end... all I want to say is, I love the way the episode went and ended. I cannot wait to see more! If it airs on Tuesday or Thursday alongside the Crimson Mirror finale or the Thursday after that? I can wait patiently for that arc of the Crown Keepers to end cuz I am pretty sure at the end of it, at least 2 of the Keepers are going to join with the Hells and one is going to be Dorian. Mostly.

Apart from that, I am just gushing about how the battle went between Opal, Ted and Spider Queen vs the rest of the CK!

The crystal shard memories that are liable to corrupt or shatter? Opal being related to the Luxon shit? The sheer memories and the Spider Queen's insistence on Opal leaving or killing her friends and forcing her to make an option? So much drama! So much fun!

I might have to catch the 2nd rebroadcast to truly appreciated the second half but. But *chefs kiss* loved it today

I got introduced to C3 with the Crown Keepers and hell if I don't love those babies.

[lauranthalasah]

We all kinda latched to Orym's "Are you with me?" to Fearne and her "Always" but really, the biggest moment between them, it wasn't the end of this interaction, but the beginning. Fearne seems to be the most aloof of all of them, she doesn't seem too concern with any problem, but the thing is Fearne knows one thing very well... Temptation, she is driven by it all the time,  but she has also seen dark temptation getting under someone's skin, how it can pick you away bit by bit until you give into it. She saw the Crown in action, how it erode the Crown Keepers, it tried it with her, it tried with Dariax, and with Dorian, and it finally got Opal, Opal who is going "darker" right now, she knows how tempting the dark side can be, how convincing, how enticing, and she is learning the cost of falling for it too. Now... she knows she doesn't like the Ruby Vanguard, if nothing else because they killed Orym, Orym's family, and Laudna. And she likes Laudna a lot, but I truly think Fearne has made Orym hers, in the way only fey creatures make things their own, I'm not sure any one of them knows exactly what that means for them... but it is there. So she doesn't like these people, and Orym doesn't like these people, and Fearne knows one more thing... Orym doesn't stay passive when he doesn't like something. She knows how much Orym liked and likes Dorian and yet she saw Orym pull a sword to him and threaten him over the Crown. Now Fearne is concern, she seems to ask stupid questions, to never get much involved, but she is fishing, and there are things she doesn't like, and she didn't like what Imogen was saying, she didn't like that dream, I bet that dream felt a lot like her own dream with the Spider Queen, so she pulls Orym away and she breaches the subject, SHE asks HIM what to do, because she knows that if worst comes to happen Orym will act, he will, even if he hates it, just because is the right thing to do, and she trust it will be the right thing to do because it will be Orym doing it. From the moment she asked him, she was on board with whatever his plan was, and there's a part of me that things she asked him because she knew he was already planning something, because if she realizes that it is needed then she knows Orym would think the same, so she asked him to show her support more than to be in the known. The most important thing in this interaction was Fearne asking first, she saw there was a potential problem and she reached for the person she knew will have a plan... she might not like it any more than Orym, but she will do it, because she knows is necessary and the right thing to do (if it comes to it). I LOVE THIS MOMENT! I adore their friendship, I adore how it has evolved since EXU, and even there, there was an undercurrent of understanding or acceptance (I remember their walk), a very particular thing, she acts like a child most of the time, impulsive, carefree, and yet sometimes she acts over Orym in a way someone of her actual age would with someone much younger, and I adore those moments.

(Funny enough... that's pretty much the same kind of relationship I see between Chetney and Orym)

[nephriteknight]

sometimes when you're brainrotting two things, the only way to cope is to smush those things together. therefore: how i think bells hells would do at Blood On The Clocktower! (or social deduction games in general.) some of this is mechanical some of it is textual some of it is Just Vibes

Orym: Not the best at lying, but very good at figuring out when someone else is. Tends to hold of on claiming for a while unless he's like a top 4. Probably follows Fearne and/or Ashton around too much, regardless of their characters/alignments. If he's ever evil with one of them he gets very excited to the point that it's almost a tell. Orym is the guy who knows exactly who everyone has been talking to, he is watching EVERYONE in his peripheral vision.

Imogen: Deception queen, nobody clocks when she's lying, but she's not the best at coming up with strategic bluffs. Initially found playing evil Very Stressful, but i think she'd come around to it. DEFINITELY talks with Laudna first every single game.

Chetney: on the fucking case. this man is a genius at this game; if he's evil, nobody can tell bc he always acts this weird, it's no different, and if he's good, he solves the game when evil least expects it. not good at lying but gets by via the power of Lying Always For Shits And Giggles (And Also Tactics)

Ashton: mister -2 to charisma cannot lie for shit. they love the game anyways, but if he's the imp he's star passing pretty much immediately (orym is going to catch him if he doesn't lmao). enjoys interrogating ppl and trying to figure out their characters. probably downplays their own usefulness to the good team but often provides big pieces of the puzzle.

Laudna: absolutely loving it. the storyteller perchance? (altho i could see orym or ash getting in on it too? I May Be Projecting.) i think laudna gets very excited to be on the evil team (maybe too obviously excited), but overall is just having a good time, solving the mystery or being the demon. yeah the more i think about it the more i think she'd really like storytelling. i mean i wore my laudna dress the first time i hosted a clocktower party the vibes are right

FCG: probably one of those people who feels bad about lying in lying games lmao. i think they'd get really into it eventually though. i don't think he'd be good at bluffing while evil, but i think he'd have a really fun time as good and get really into solving it and figuring out wtf is going on.

Fearne: Pure Chaos. you can never tell if she's evil because she is always unpredictable. will commit to the bit always. will offer you the mez word as a good player. has turned several people evil bc they thought she was joking about the mez word and she was Not. she's def not BAD at the game, she's observant and she's good at bluffing, but she is An Experience, and i say that with the most love. very fun to play with i think.

Dorian: probably a little overwhelmed by the complexity (of clocktower specifically). he is, in the words of fearne, "a very bad liar". enjoys it nonetheless, but he is not the clocktower champ by any means (again, said with so much love). still, he's a good sport about it and he's having a good time, and that's what matters! i could def see him storytelling as well. (BONUS, if he brings dariax: he follows dorian around and asks him questions about how the game works constantly. catches ppl off guard w good bluffs sometimes but only when he lucks into good strats or a teammate tells him what to bluff as.)

[randoimago]

Dear Kat! I have read your excellent CR fandoms and was hoping for the "reader drunk love confession" trope with Ashton, Dorian, Orym, Mollymauk and perhaps my love Dariax? <3 (and any character you want to include)

Drunken Love Confessions

Fandom: Critical Role

Characters: Ashton Greymoore, Dorian Storm, Orym, Mollymauk Tealeaf, Dariax Zaveon

Type of Request: Headcanons

Notes: Technically I’m only doing four characters at a time, but you just had to use my weakness against me (I love Dariax v much). I’m glad to write this for you for all of these babes <3

Ashton

Oh he is just watching you stumble over your words and ramble about being in love with him. Except you think you’re talking to someone else about how amazing Ashton is.

It is a tad embarrassing to know that you feel so strongly about him. Might have to process your words a bit, but for now he’ll gladly ask you to go on with how much you love Ashton. What is it about the genasi that gets your heart pumping?

Absolutely mentions you being drunk off your ass the next morning. Wouldn’t bring up the confession since he doesn’t want to embarrass you when you’re hungover and probably wanting to die from that alone.

Would tell you that he likes you too. Might need time to fully process what exactly happened and make sure you were genuine, cause it was drunk talking and he doesn’t want to be your mistake.

Dorian

He’s nervously laughing as he’s scanning the bar, trying to find someone to help. He needs an adult.

Don’t get him wrong, he is very happy that you love him so much. But you’re so very drunk and don’t know what you’re saying and he’d prefer someone to come help you so if you do remember this, you don’t regret all of this entirely.

The next morning will be him constantly trying to make eye contact and seeing if you’re okay. And also trying to see if you mention remembering confessing to him because he really hopes you do so he can confess while sober.

Also wants to make sure he can talk to you before any possible miscommunications can happen because you were very drunk. If you do forget what you said then Dorian is going to just stew in that confession and be an unhappy genasi because what the fuck is he supposed to do with this information?! He’s awkward!

Mollymauk

Much like Ashton (it’s almost like Taliesin has a type with his characters), he’s teasingly asking you to go on about how much you love this purple tiefling of yours.

Does try switching your alcohol for water several times as he wants you to remember this so you two can actually talk about it the next day. Like hell he’s letting you run and hide from your confession.

Sure, it might just be drunken words that mean nothing, but he still wants to talk to you about it. If it is nothing then he’ll tease you endlessly. But he hopes it means something because he likes you too.

The next morning is him teasing you still but also taking care of you while you’re hungover, just being gentle because he loves you too.

Orym

Orym is very concerned and doesn’t quite know what to think with the drunken confessing. He really thinks you need to drink more water and that you’ll regret all of this tomorrow.

Which he is prepared to tell you it’s okay. That he’s fine being your friend still. Even if the thought hurts his heart, he doesn’t want to lose you due to drunken confessing.

Although with how drunk you are, he might decide to be a tad selfish. He already felt some guilt feeling this way for you when he still loves Wil. But he might let it slip that he loves you too. You’re drunk and there’s a good chance you’ll forget it in the morning.

The next morning is him checking on you and doing his best to get you some healing and water. He might bring up what happened, mostly being vague since he doesn’t want to embarrass you. Should you remember what happened then he’s ready to deal with the consequences of his actions (thankfully it’s good consequences).

Bonus! Dariax

God he’s also very drunk and you two are just being so overly cute with your “I love you” “Well I love you more!”

Dorian wants to put his head through a wall but decided to be the designated sober friend so you two don’t do anything stupid.

The next morning will absolutely be the genasi tuning his lute for hours to antagonize you both with the noise.

Rather you two remember what happened the night before, he doesn’t care (well he kind of does because he wants you two to be happy with each other and not awkward and silent treatment-y).

[thisisnotthenerd]

silly little ideas i had post-c3e51

with the party split the way it is, communication is going to be super hard for bell’s hells. both of their party members with sending are in the flotket alps--they won’t have much to spare to send to the others, especially if they try to contact any allies that weren’t at the ludinus fight. it might take a little while for them to get the band back together, so to speak.

if they go the slayer’s take route and have the parties alternate, potentially with guests, it would be a little fun and spicy to have aabria come and dm one of them if they run into the crown keepers. maybe its another exu expansion. idk. all i know is that she’s great, and having matt dm a guest group with the crown keepers would feel just a little weird. i don’t like the idea of dariax as a dmpc. maybe he’s busy with the observer? idk.

 As of right now i think orym, laudna, and ashton are either on issylra in the original Hishari, or they’ve been transported to terrah on tal’dorei--they’re more likely to run into the crown keepers especially because orym has the sending stone to dorian. the wildemount group is probably going to start hitting more c2 people (or not).

after they get their bearings and potentially start finding out what really happened to ashton, it would be really funny to see them meet up with the crown keepers. I don’t know if laudna and opal would instantly click, but they both have a drippy warlock lady with voices thing going on, and it would be an interaction like that of laudna and ira or that one cleric they ran into whose name i cannot remember after eshteross died. there’s a vibe there. also opal’s probably straight up not having a good time with the apogee solstice and lolth. great opportunity to find out if delilah’s still knocking around in there and what she thinks of ludinus. and also to try and get her out of there.

ashton has an opportunity here to meet another genasi (fy’ra rai) and also find out more about what got implanted in their head (dunamis something or other/glass?). i think this is his opportunity to really be understood and prioritized, especially given the e49 conversation they had with laudna. give this guy a chance to leave and see what he does. cracking this particular geode, especially when the party is split, is going to give way to some fun and spicy character dynamics in the future.

orym is just reuniting with his friends, and it would be interesting to see what the crown keepers’ level ups look like. i think that little man needs some time to decompress a little. he’s just relived a bunch of his major sources of grief--the survivor’s guilt is going to come out, i feel it in my bones. this fun little murder lad needs a moment to be just a guy. maybe he spices it up along the way, idk. he’s already got a lot of the requisites to toss in a little bit of ranger. give him a favored enemy. let the little murder man go feral with the blessing of melora. he’s always the hinged one. personally, a little flavor of the ashari with horizon walker could be interesting, what with them guarding the gates to the elemental planes. i want this guy to maintain that he is just a guy while hasting himself and teleporting places. not that it would happen--he’d lose too many fighter levels to do it. but still, it’d be fun and spicy.

the followup

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Hello bees! It is yet another Wednesday and we have yet another recc list for you. This week, we have five fics featuring miscommunication of some sort. As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 💕

Steamy by Rikku (1,507 words, Teen) Pairing: Fjord/Mollymauk Tealeaf (Fjolly) Warnings: Drug Use, Implied Dubcon

After Beau and Molly get high off skein, Fjord takes the two of them to the bathhouse to cool off.

Reccer Says: Fjolly beloved! This fic is very sweet with a nice side dish of angst as the boys wavelengths don’t quite line up.

Harbour by VioletTeaTime (2,995 words, Teen) Pairing: Orym/Dariax Zaveon Warnings: Mentions of Homophobia

Orym and Dariax are college roommates. Orym has a crush, but worries Dariax might be a touch homophobic (it all works out in the end though)

Reccer Says: It’s very silly and very cute! Orym and Dariax are adorable disasters and the confession scene is cute. Also it’s a neat little time capsule of early EXU (Dorian is a triton and it’s a vibe, honestly)

say my name by floralprintshark (4,906 words, Explicit) Pairing: Ashton Greymoore/Dorian Storm (Greystorm) Warnings: Choking

Ashton and Dorian are friends with benefits. Ashton catches feelings.

Reccer Says: There’s never enough of these two in the world and this is a really fun take on how they might end up together 💚💙

in the ocean washing off my name from your throat by Princex_N (4,057 words, General) Pairing: Laerryn Coramar-Seelie/Loquatius Seelie (Loquaerryn) Warnings: Hurt No Comfort, Allusions to Infidelity, Domestic Disputes

In the heat of a fight, Quay makes a suggestion he doesn’t mean, and everything comes crumbling down around him.

Reccer Says: The way this fic makes my heart ache, oh my god. Everything is perfectly in character in the most painful of ways, it truly feels like this could be the fight that led to their divorce in canon. Quay’s reflection on the state of their relationship, the mistakes he’d made along the way, how deeply he loves Laerryn, the cultural differences between them and the misunderstandings because of them, all just *chef’s kiss*

And we have two reccs for; Fjord Tusktooth: Pact of the Sugar Baby by Demenior (23,529 words, Explicit) Pairing: Fjord/Original Male Character Warnings: None

In order for the Nein to successfully pull of a heist, Fjord sets about seducing the lord he and his friends are robbing. He’s exactly Fjord’s type, though there’s one complication; he’s a dragon. And it takes Fjord a little while to catch on. A heist gone wrong leaves Fjord seducing the Nein's mark - and that mark is a dragon.

Reccer 1 Says: Excellent Fjord characterization, a delight of an OC, chaotic Nein shenanigans, and extremely hot dragon sex make this fic (and the entire series) an extremely fun read. Highly recommend reading all of it, the way the relationship between Fjord and Gairdneri develops is especially wonderful, imo. Reccer 2 Says: This fic is SO fun! Demenior does a fantastic job capturing the voices of all of the characters, and the sex is hot too.

Thank you for joining us this week’s recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 💕 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 💕

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Works in Progress. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Angst and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Spring and Jester Rarepairs! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 💕

[annemarieyeretzian]

Hi! Love your recaps while watching campaign 3. Just wanted to share that Liam constantly bringing up Dorian pretty much confirms my theory that he and Robbie are playing the long game with their characters and planned it since EXU. I felt like this was the case back when Robbie did the four sided dive and admitted that Dorian was attracted to one of the other characters in C3, but recently it’s been pretty obvious that while the rest of the characters have largely not thought of or discussed Dorian, it seems Orym keeps making it a point to remember him. And don’t get me started on Robbie’s Critical Role reaction tweets where he only seems to have things to say when Orym’s involved lol. Anyway, glad to see some blogs are still rooting for Dorym as much as I am 🙂

hi hello thank you!!! I love your theory and want it to be true but being a cynic I have my doubts!!! I know robbie really shipped dariax/dorian in exu, which (although I never understood the energy around them That Way) is real and valid. it also feels very much like everyone is being much more careful about shipping discourse this campaign, which is honestly a relief because the fandom is so rabid about it,* so even though I think both robbie and particularly liam’s actions have definitely at least hinted at dorym I’m also not investing too much in them eventually being canon until more has played out. I think orym making it a point to remember dorian has more to do with a) dorian being one of orym’s best friends and b) liam o’brien’s insistence on emotional damage for the third campaign in a row.

THAT BEING SAID, I do agree that it is 👀 that robbie only seems to react/tweet when something is happening with orym!!! I also don’t think it’s incidental that, like, robbie said dorian and orym had the enemy surrounded “with the power of love” (👀) or that when liam slipped and said “oriam” instead of “orym and dorian” he and robbie had a laugh about the fandom picking that up. they are obviously my ship and I want them to be in love. I am absolutely still rooting for dorym. I have shipped them since episode one of exu. they are the hill I will die on.

(*people went fucking feral for beau/jester, dariax/dorian, and now ashton/orym? even though those are not the directions those characters were/are developing in? and there’s nothing wrong with shipping who you want! do it! it’s a fantasy! but how furious people were at laura for playing jester, canonically into fjord, as… canonically into fjord, and how people derided and actually decided they hated yasha – hated an entire character with an incredible arc outside of a developing romance because she was “in the way” of a ship that WASN’T CANON??? – even though beau and yasha were the ones with canonical feelings for each other, and how people have completely disregarded and ignored dorian and orym’s canonical feelings – platonic or romantic – for each other in favor of dariax/dorian and ashton/orym despite robbie and liam saying dorian and orym are the party dads and robbie later called dariax morrighan’s emotional support boyfriend and most of ashton’s in-canon attention/flirting being directed toward fearne??? I am, as ever, confused as fuck by this fandom and their weird insistence on what they want needing to be canon or they will throw a fucking fit. the vitriol is and always will be fucking bizarre to me.)

[masterqwertster]

18. "I need to change that bandage" and 8. "Can you sing for me" for Opal and Dorian if you can please?

Oh, all Crown Keepers. Let's go! Also, I'm tapped out on this prompt list. I'll finish what I've already received, but that'll be it for now. I mean, I'll have done nearly 20 of these little monsters when I finish those.

"Come on, Opal. I need to change your bandages," Dorian coaxes.

Or you could let him or Dariax heal you. Like a reasonable person, Ted chimes in, heard only by Opal.

"Shut up, Ted," Opal snaps back. Then, quieter, "I hurt my friends. You can't just magic that away."

"Well, no. But that doesn't mean you need to be hurting too," Dorian reasons, sitting down beside her with the healer's kit. "And it really would be easier if you'd just let me heal it with magic instead of this whole rigmarole with changing the bandages."

See? You're making him feel bad when he already feels bad, Ted points out.

What do you mean? Opal asks back, mentally, for once.

Oh my gods. He's a fucking bard and he hasn't sung or played anything in days. Doesn't that tell you that something is wrong?

And Opal takes a moment to think back on it. Ted is right. Dorian hasn't done any music since he hustled them all into this hidden space.

On orders from Orym.

Oh fuck. Dorian's got the magic talking stone to Orym, but Opal doesn't think he's heard back from the brave little halfling since he got the order. And Dorian is such a worrywart anyways, especially when it comes to how Orym (and Fearne and the other friends they'd made) was doing.

And that isn't even getting into the mess she'd made of things recently.

Opal bites her lip, considering what would actually make their current situation better.

"Um. You can... y'know, heal my arm? If you want to. But, you've got to sing too, okay? You haven't lately, and you're a bard. Aren't bards supposed to sing magic anyways?" Opal ends up rambling.

"Oh," Dorian softly says, something... sad, Opal thinks, flitting across his face. "Okay. It's, uh, nice that you're finally willing to be properly healed. And I can sing a song. ...Just, uh, give me moment to pick one?"

"Of course," Opal agrees.

Dorian retrieves the mandolin he got from Dariax when he came back from Marquet and starts tuning it.

Opal notices that the others are stilling as they notice Dorian is preparing to perform. She guesses Ted wasn't the only one to pick up on Dorian's recent silence.

A breath taken in the anticipatory silence, and Dorian begins.

The song is beautiful. And lonesome. Pining, not-yet-mourning. When he sings, it's with the voice of a wind on an empty plain with nothing to catch on save the waving stalks of grass. Yet there should be someone there. Someone whose hair can be tousled by the wind, whose clothes can flutter in the breeze. But they're not there. Not anymore. Or is it not yet?

Opal can't understand a word Dorian sings, but she gathers it must be a genasi language, because Cyrus and Fy'ra Rai are paying close attention. Cyrus even mouths along to some of the lyrics.

Eventually, the song comes to an end. They always do.

And Opal is almost startled to realize her arm is fully healed with the song's conclusion. Sure, it's what she'd asked for, but she had been so caught up in the music...

"Thanks, Dorian."

"You're welcome."

[cringefaecompilation]

ok first of all I LOVE UR CONCEPT ABOUT DORIAN STRUGGLING FITTING BACK WITH THE HELLS because 1) I love angst 2) dorian is probably also going through hell along with the crownkeepers according to his one message about opal going dark 3) idk his mix of insecurities and anxieties and anger and bitterness he can exude when pushed.... yeah....YEAH......

second of all I also had this really concept/hc that dorian would have told ck all about bh and his adventures with them but then coming back and realising that bh have barely mentioned him and....having feelings about that (it's understandable given their circumstances but it still hurts....ya know...)

yes, yes, yes! something people never think about when they talk about dorian's potential return is that how early in the campaign he left. like, so early that we didn't know about laudna's patron! and how would that affect him when he returned and he sees that on the surface they've all had wonderful things happen to them?

fcg found out they've got a soul? ashton is kinder and more patient? imogen got a tiara that lets her finally not hear everyone's thoughts? orym's literal fucking keyleth bestowed title that apparently he didn't think was important enough for dorian to know about? it'd make for an absolutely gruesome parallel to laudna's meltdown in e65 because i cannot imagine he'd be happy about any of this. every time someone tries to act like he'd perfectly mesh back with them no questions asked all i can think of is the bit in exu when dorian and orym argue over the circlet.

and ohhhh i will NOT shut up about fearne bottling it up (95% of orym's tag has talked about him bottling it up already so i didn't wanna be redundant) because dear god tailesin came for my crownkeepers loving heart with that fucking line. the 15 seconds of dariax hurt me, the "opal's going dark" comment still horrifies me, and where in the name of GOD are fy'ra and morrigan? if nothing else i think we at least need an update on them! can we get an exu miniseries about them during the solstice? i have a theory on what happened to opal but it's a little fanficc-y.

(this of course assumes dorian doesn't know that sending and communication magic is fucking up, which he very well might not given that again, orym's messages have been getting sparser and further apart.)

[dontgofarfromme]

Can you recommend any dorym fics? I’m very picky as well

Hey anon! I went through my ao3 bookmarks and tragically have very few, precisely bc I'm so picky :((( These are my favorites of the ones I've read though!

Look Alive, Sunshine by Anonymous

Words: 38k / Completion status: Incomplete, updated 2022/10/04

Clutching his axe tightly, Dorian peeks. There is the hollow, turning around to face the far end of the side yard. There is Orym, in the middle of a pile of dead leaves, trapped between the hollow and the gate. There is the end of his sword, teetering on the edge of the roof. This picture is not a good picture. Orym gets to his feet slowly, as though trying not to spook the hollow into action. Dorian watches his eyes dart between the fence, the wall, the roof, and the gate. No good footholds. Nothing to climb up. Gate wedged closed. He is well and truly stuck. His eyes find Dorian’s, unbelievably calm even in their growing fear. Dorian nods, and holds a finger to his lips.

Zombie apocalypse AU. I recognize that I am starting with like. The least canon-relevant and claiming to be picky about characterization but however!! I think this fic really gets both Dorian and Orym, not to mention the other characters, and is able to translate their specific backgrounds and flaws incredibly well into an extremely disparate setting. Also i love the whole pre-relationship thing where both parties are unsure of where they stand with the other/worry that their feelings aren't reciprocated and try to clamp down on them because of it, and I can never find many fic with them in that stage for this ship, but think this one manages to get a fair amount of that uncertainty into the mix for something that is also caught up in like. Zombies. I found this one quite recently and am just like praying for the next update lol.

better in the morning by a_goblin (ConstantComment)

Words: 5.3k / Completion status: Complete

With Fearne and Orym, it never felt too odd to share a bed, abandoning his genteel comforts to save the coin. In some ways it felt like napping on the sprawled rugs and cushions of the nursery with his brother and cousins long before he knew he was important, or like sleeping back-to-back on the road with Dariax or Opal to keep warm and safe when he knew he was important to his companions. But, there is an important distinction to be made about approaching a bed that a man already lies in. After the explosion at the Moon Tower, old wounds resurface and old patterns change.

Soft shit. Canon-typical bed sharing, post-battle fallout, mild repression, etc. I just want them to sit down and cry a lot and talk about their feelings or whatever and this one goes check check and check on those counts. Also that last sentence of the first paragraph in the summary A+++++.

this drunken semaphore by maybetwice

Words: 2.6k / Completion status: Complete

Drinking games are the natural endpoint for people who are bored and drunk, and that’s just about all this ragtag crew are these days.

Very sweet, I also just love the addition of the rest of the Crown Keepers, this is totally a game they would play. Orym sitting equal parts with remembrance of Will and with growing feelings for Dorian is so good here; it's something that's going to have to be grappled with regardless of the Orym ship and I like the exploration here of where in this particular moment he falls in that process of grieving and moving on.

better hope I dont blink by jadeandquartz

Words: 3.7k / Completion status: Complete

A torch flickers into view. Two, maybe three streets away. Someone has heard. Someone is coming to check. I can’t let them find me. If they find him, he won’t get another chance. If they find him, he’ll never be able to try again. If they find him - I can’t let them find me. His ankle throbs warmly. Dorian grits his teeth, shoves panic down into the deep recesses of his stomach like he’s been doing every day of his life, and rummages through the bag for the kitchen knife. He cuts a strip from the black cloak, ties it awkwardly around his eyes to mask their light. Then, he turns and hobbles towards the nearest patch of shadow. Away from his pursuers. Towards anything else, anywhere else that will take him. I won’t let them find me. *** Or: Four times Dorian Storm wore a mask (and one time where he became Brontë Wyvernwind again in the process)

This one is technically more Dorian than it is dorym but it does have dorym in it and also im fricking obsessed with this portrayal of Dorian's background so it's going in the list. It cuts to the heart of this conflict Dorian has which almost defines his character, where he wants so badly to just be seen and loved as himself but then tends to revert to this old defence mechanism of burying himself under an abrasive but charming mask (literally, in the case of this fic) when shit gets too dicey or too personal, like we saw in EXU and at the ball in cr3. The short bits with Orym are written in this really tender and delicate way, suited to how new and fragile their friendship and Dorian's feelings are.

truth, now spoken by portraitofemmy

Words: 4.1k / Completion status: Complete

He’s not surprised to find Orym sitting awake in the room when he gets back to the Spire By Fire. He’s not surprised, but he’s not exactly happy about it either. Dorian and Orym have a conversation, and end up a little closer for it.

It's a crime that this ship doesn't have more getting-together fics, okay, I live for getting-together fics. This one is very sweet, it lets them talk a little of their personal baggage out with each other which I also always love to watch.

These are my favourites at the moment! If you're looking for more I'd suggest to also go digging through these authors' other fics (I am personally devastated that Look Alive, Sunshine is on anon bc i would kill to read more stuff from this person), most of them have written other good dorym fics as well but these are just the ones I like most and/or the ones i remembered to bookmark!

[utilitycaster]

Deni$e

Answering what’s in my inbox, not taking new questions:

First impression: wait is this THEE DENI$E?

Impression now: I love her. girl you can do infinitely better than Dariax but also if you love him I hope you guys make it work.

Favorite moment: Will say, her confronting Bor'Dor was pretty badass.

Idea for a story: She's from Kymal, and dwarven ages give you a lot of freedom...make Kaylie her ex as well.

Unpopular opinion: I saw a few people be like "wow the guests all love Laudna" and like. I love both Laudna and Deni$e, and Aimee and Marisha played off each other well, but from my perspective Deni$e was super unimpressed with Laudna, and frankly, with the insecurity side of the Jersey Insecurity team in general, though she seemed a bit more fond of Prism.

Favorite relationship: her conversations with Orym were really great.

Favorite headcanon: I hope she ends up next to Dariax just as The Observer is like "stop Predathos" to him. I think it will be very funny.

[finncakes]

Oof ya while I like do/rym I’ve never really shipped it

For me I also kinda see it as how just because you start having feelings for someone for the first time since the death of a partner that doesn’t mean that’s the person you’ll end up with

Plus even if Orym has these feelings and they’re mutual that doesn’t mean he feels ready for another relationship and those feelings could either fade or strengthen over time as he sorts out his emotions cuz he could just be projecting a bit if he sees his husband in Dorian and in his absence he’s only focusing on the details that bring him comfort

that's absolutely a possibility!

there's so much going on in that noggin of his that any ray of light is a blessing. sadly fearne has been along for the ride so i don't think she holds the same weight as dorian in regards to be untethered to all this shit the hells are dealing with. and opal is tainted by the crown, dariax wasn't with fearne & dorian & orym when they left so yeah. idunno lot's of thoughts and feelings that i am not good at expressing!

in the end i care most abt orym's character as a whole having a satisfying arc (loving seeing his mental health spiral like this...is this what you were like for those six years after will & derrig died? interesting...) but it is fun to speculate abt silly stuff too

[tangent101]

Critical Role Commentary (C3, E59)

Here there be Spoilers

Well. It looks like we won't be learning the results of Laura's die roll. It must have been really bad, or Sam's makeup really required Team A from playing, as we're with Team B now.

The fact that Deni$e is Dariax's girlfriend is entirely too amusing to me. I can't help but think that her creation was a delightful poke at Matt (especially given Aimee is playing her). Again, we have characters with connections to those around them - Deni$e to Orym and to Fearne, and Prism to the Cobalt Soul (Cobo So!).

Of course, what's more interesting is that there is another gathering of ley lines, not far from where the group is. I can't help but suspect Team B is going to end up finding themselves involved in another of Ludinus's schemes... or even finding some members of the Ruby Vanguard having been transported along the lines of the ley lines and deposited there. Though... given the relative proximity to Vasselheim, it is also quite possible that they could find agents of Vasselheim there, either putting out metaphorical (or literal!) fires and machinations, or performing their own rituals.

Another interesting element is the fact that Deni$e and Bor'Dor seem to be Ruidusborn, akin to Fearne (though likely not Exalted... though given Bor'Dor's sudden acquisition of magical power, he might be an Exalted and having gained Celestial Sorcerous powers from the Solstice and Ludinus's little ceremony a third of the world away.

And now we wait. Two weeks until the next episode of Team B, and likely another six weeks beyond that, assuming that Team B has seven episodes on their own just as Team A had. And while it'll most likely be under two weeks in-game for how long Laudna and Imogen have been apart... it'll be a little over a third of a year for all of us eagerly awaiting their tearful reunion.

Hey, I'm a hopeful romantic. And they're my favorite couple in the game, even with Wild Things and Love Letters having come into fruition before Team A went on break.