#also it does bear saying that critrole--as much as i love it personally--is not for every1 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

readbythestarlight · 5 years

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c2e84

Wow, that was a surpassingly normal ad!

Oh boy here we go lore drop!

Therizdune the chained oblivion who is chained at the bottom of the abyss

"He’s basically the boogeyman" if the boogeyman was a HORRIBLE ELDRITCH MONSTER

...IS the boogeyman a horrible eldritch monster?! Oh god.

[[MORE]]

This is great and awful like terrible abyssal eldritch things that can creep into the world through gaps and rifts encourages people to be violent and awful

Also I’m so satisfied that the chains actually ended up being significant

Okay so Yussah knows a guy who we know knows Trent, so... that’s not cool. I mean o totally trust Yussah now it’s not that, it’s just can we trust Ormid?

So not all the Cerberus assembly is bad re: Yussah. But like he’s basically a hermit living in his tower, yeah? Who doesn’t go into the Empire? So like how out of touch is he?

"Trent seems just creepy" that’s putting it mildly

Money? Ball bearings? xD

Oh nice some of the Halas money

Oh Nott honey

Fjord being like "Nott? Caleb please talk to your goblin."

And they’re just all discussing it in the background

NOTT DO NOT

oh boy don’t like that

Oh dear...

"Your FACE is stupid" oh Nott

Lock the gem away somewhere

"You’ll still work at it and try?" Oh honey of course he will

I like how they handled that. They didn’t put Nott down, they gently reminded her that Halas can’t be trusted.

Oh I hope that doesn’t trigger Caleb

And I hope that didn’t just fuck them over with Halas maybe

Cad’s like "can we not?" and then just silencing everyone who keeps trying to talk to him

Y’all need to call your OTHER wizard friend (aka HOTT BOI) to let him know you’re fine and not dead or anything cause this is probably the longest he’s gone without hearing from you

"Everything’s been smoothed over" I wonder if Dairon had anything to do with that

I wonder where she is...

Also this is late cause he said it like ages ago but I love Cad’s little bits of homely wisdom, like the whole holes in a bucket metaphor.

PLATINUMMMMMMM

A WHOLE SATCHEL

TIME TO BUY A KEEP Y’ALL

Kidding I like the xhorhaus

Holy SHIT

21,000 gold??

That puts them at 350 platinum which is like 3,500 apiece NICE

Please def check in with Orli I miss him

I’m gonna insist they all get either matching M9 tattoos or Captain tusktooth tattooes

ORLIIIII

Oh my

Yeah a charisma bump is a good choice Nott xD

YOU ALL BETTER GET MATCHING TATTOOS

"chaos crew" lol

Imagine the stories those "new faces" have heard of the M9 from the older crew

1312 gold not bad!

Fuck y’all I love Orli! I missed him. I hope Fjord retires and goes back to sailing with Orli and the crew someday.

F: "Can I ask, how painful is this... procedure?"

O: "oh-ho-ho! Quite."

Oh lord

B: "Is that infected? Is that infected?!"

O: "No, he’s just a.....................Pansy."

Girls day!

Ohhh I like that idea Nott! Can’t wait to see the new art of that.

I like the start of the idea but the "like the Traveler’s hugging me" is slightly creepy to me. Idk.

BeauJester shippers just got a gift xD

Oh... Molly’s all seeing eye tattoo. My heart. Taliesin looks really touched.

Omg a nat1

Ouch fuck Matt you didn’t have to describe that

Matt’s like "here’s your pretty tattoo Nott, here’s your very lovely tattoo Jester, here’s your TOTALLY BOMBASS tattoo that goes all the way up the BACK OF YOUR SKULL Beau"

like I’m not saying Matt plays favorites but his wife’s character definitely got the coolest tattoo

Boy talk over fish and chips heck yeah

Mmm gonna get some deep talk from Caleb?

Caleb expressing that he feels like maybe they’ve been brought together for a purpose <3

Cad telling him he’s believed Caleb was meant for something important since the beginning

Caleb the green bean farmer

"The god’s plant us, plant their will and their desire, and we move towards the fruit we’re meant for bear for them." Aw that’s... sweet, Cad.

Fjord being like "idk man I’m still figuring it out" what a mood

Caleb admitting he feels like he should run away

"I have started to forget what it was like not being with you people. And we are missing one, I am stuck on the fact that we are still missing one."

I wish I was fast enough to transcribe word for word this conversation because it’s excellent

I like Fjord’s question of "when you know, do you run away or do the right thing knowing it could kill you"

C: "You two are alright."

Cad: "We’re getting better."

F: "So are you, you know, you should give yourself credit."

C: "Mm..."

Cad: "I know... just think about it."

(Wow my old Widofjord feelings just came back with a vengeance.)

Cad adding in his own encouraging words about how Caleb is growing and becoming better made me happy too

C: "I hate tattoos."

Nott in the distance: AHHHH

C: "they’re just not for me."

Cad: "they’re frowned upon in my family."

And then they go see the girls

"We brought fish and chips—what they fuck"

All the Jester ships are eating well tonight

I’m so glad Jester finally got her cool tattoo

Y’all don’t want to see mom and Yeza and Luc?

lol Jester "I didn’t tell my mom about the tattoo"

"I’ve seen parents find out their kids had tattoos literally at the funeral"

I literally could not tell if that was Cad or Taliesin sharing

You guys didn’t even say bye to Orli! YOU MONSTERS

Boy that talks blurb with Brian talk about Caleb is GOOD SHIT MAN

No Brian don’t stop please go on and on about Caleb

lol Matt getting himself in the face with the paper

I knew Dairon was the one who got them out of trouble <3

EXPOSITOR OUTFIT AYYYY

just got new official art and now Beau gets a new outfit and the girls get tattoos xD

B: "I apologize"

M9: "wwwwwoooooaaaaahhh"

And library access again yay!

HEYYYY DAIRON

Beau gets to be a role model now lol

Oh yikes... selling out the Kryn to the King... don’t like that

Vence... NewTHEYLESS??

I don’t like that

Everyone: *excited freaking about Beau’s expositor room*

Cad, a good 10 seconds behind: "You had a monk bunk."

Dairon admitting she realized her prejudices against the Kryn were wrong. You know what that is? Growth.

They’re all so proud of Expositor Beau

Caleb trying to do "normal" accents is amazing lol

I don’t want him to be split from the group but I definitely understand his concern

Scary world ending lore oh boy

Oh god I forgot about the gentleman being here...

YES NO DO NOT GO ALONE that’s a dumb idea honey Jester please

N about J: "well she convides in everybody. Just says whatever she wants to say all the time."

This whole Beau and Nott conversation is amazing xD

Fjord and Jester: talking

Beau and Nott: talking

Caduceus walking along and enjoying the group communicating and sharing their feelings

Is he an earth genasi?

That’s the second time another wizard has called Yussah a fool, poor guy

I like how Ormid’s like "who the fuck are these people" but he also trusts Yussah enough to listen to them that’s nice

Hmmm I don’t like that’s awfully suspicious

WHISPERSSSSS

He keeps coming back to the beacon and I don’t like it

So like.. what if he is in on the whole thing and is trying to steer them away from looking deeper into the beacon?

Jester honey why you go and name drop Trent?? Like fuck.

Also interesting that both the King and his council have been more aggressive and pro-war lately, and the Bright Queen is also bent on the conflict in a way that I’ve personally felt doesn’t seem to quite mesh with her character, it definitely lends towards the idea that they’re being manipulated

Ormid’s a bit of a dick, although I guess I can understand, they’re not explaining themselves super well

Hng idk how I feel about Ormid and I’m not sure that I like that he now knows Dairon is working to get an audience with the king

But then again I’m bad about telling which NPCs are trustworthy and which aren’t.

Ormid’s face when they mentioned the cat OH MY GOD

okay fine god now I have to trust him

"I know we are talking about very important things but" I’m dying

Y’all fixing to get a symbol of the Cerberus Assembly damn

I don’t necessarily LIKE Ormid not entirely trust him but he’s already

Insight check on Sprinkles to see if he wants to go back with Jester aw

lol getting pet advice from him maybe I like him a little bit

PUMAT SOOOOL

it’s been so long!

PUMAAAAT SOL

Guys I have missed Pumat so much he just brings me so much joy

Fetch quest for Pumat DO IT PLZ

Wait

Basilisk oil that’s maybe not a great idea

GO SAILING TO THE ISLANDS

They gotta go to islands for Traveler Con right is that close?

"Let me get it from CritRole stats" lol

Oh thank god health potions

Armor boost oil is neat (plus 1 to AC isn’t bad) but ouch it’s pricy

I love that they CANNOT keep money they get it and then they spend it. It’s #relatable

Uh.... what’s happening to my boy?!

Caduceus?!

MATT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BOY??

45 pats slashing??

WHAT IS HAPPENING

CADUCEUS

oh NO

fuck no

Is there a rift near?!

WHAT THE FUCK

The Inevitable End?

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Evil assassin person??

45 points of damage fuck

This is bad

Sam: “WE’RE SHOPPING MATT” MOOD

23 doesn’t hit?!

Oh they’re in trouble

God DAMN I’m freaked out omg

Does he have The Invulnerable Vangrent as a map??

God what a cliffhanger

#a day late but OH MY GOD #Critical Role #cr spoilers #emi watches critical role

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bloodyshadow1 · 5 years

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Nature V NatureBlog:ModernAu

So this is my submission for day 4 critrole femslash week, prompt Alternate Universe. I choose to do a modern au with a vlogger/social media because when I started it I read a few and thought they were neat. Hope you enjoy, read, review, comment, reblog, they really mean more than you’d think when writing stuff like this.

“Oh sweet Pelor, she posted another freaking video,” Vex’ahlia ‘Vex’ Vessar screamed at her brother Vax’ildan, or Vax for pretty much anyone who had ever talked to him.

“Who my dear sweet even-tempered sister,” Vax asked half amused half mocking. He already knew who Vex was throwing her latest hissy fit over, she had been throwing tantrums over the other half-elf for months. It wasn’t fair, there was such a huge storm in Emon last week the meant she wasn’t able to go out and hike like she normally did which meant she hadn’t been able to film a new video. It also meant that she hadn’t been able to visit her sweet baby boy Trinket either and that was even worse. Maybe it was making her cranky, but she wouldn't admit that.

“You very well know who I mean,” Vex said rounding on her brother but her eyes never strayed from her phone, “Keyleth Zephara.” The newest Druid Diaries video already had a couple thousand views and it had only been up for an hour at most. Vex hadn’t watched it yet, but she knew it would be sweet and wonderful and oh so sickening, just like the woman who it focused on.

“Oh right the red-haired bimbo who has been the bane of your existence for the past few months. The one who updates every Saturday, which is today,” Vax said not even looking up from his tablet. He had much better things to do than listen to his sister go on and on about her one-sided war she was waging against her crush even if his sister wouldn’t admit it was a crush.

“I never said she was a bimbo,” Vex retorted. She glanced at her phone again seeing Keyleth’s smiling face as she traveled through the wilderness, “I mean yes I called her a strumpet, but I didn’t actually know what it meant. I thought it was an insult that you called pretty women.”

“I know,” Vax said finally looking at his twin sister, if only so she could see his shit eating grin. “Zahra won’t let you forget it.”

Vex didn’t need to be reminded about her ex-girlfriend/current best friend’s literal rolling on the floor laughter the first time Vex used the word wrong during a rant about Keyleth. Besides, Zahra didn’t matter right now, “I just don’t get how her blog is more popular than mine? I mean we’re both nature blogs, but I’m the 3 time gold medalist and fashion icon, whereas she’s just a nature blog. Why is she more popular than me? Vex’ahlia’s Visions is a masterpiece blog in my opinion, it combines fitness, fashion, and nature.” Vex had started it up sometime during the last Summer games and her third gold medal victory and it had been a very popular blog for the last 3 years. Her friend Scanlan had suggested it, said that she could boost her popularity and show her fans the real her. While she was initially against it she had to admit it was fun and she did love the praise she received for her breathtaking nature shots as well as people lavishing over her beauty during her fitness and fashion segments.

“How could my blog be losing to a blog about a gorgeous girl who does cute things with animals she sees travel the world. It’s only been up for two years.” A moment passed and Vex was about to answer but Vex stopped him, “I know, I know her blog sounds awesome, I realized it the second the words came out of my mouth. Still, it doesn’t explain why she’s more popular than me. She calls her fans Kikinuts for crying out loud.”

“I mean, it probably doesn’t help that you follow her and are like half the views on her videos.”

“I’m not half the views on her videos,” Vex shot back, “maybe a quarter, but not half,” she whispered to herself. She can’t help it, after all Keyleth of the Air Ashari was the competition, Vex had to watch her videos to see why they were so popular, at least 8 times each just to be sure, sometimes with and other times without sound. “Still, I’m a ranger and one of the most famous in the world, how does someone have a nature blog more popular than mine?”

Despite Vex’s complaints she did love Keyleth’s videos. They were always surprisingly informative about the places she visited, and she would always have animals in her videos that did cute things and she would talk to sometimes. Usually she would end up sleeping in the woods somewhere making a shelter, foraging for her own food and water, living under the stars. As a powerful druid she apparently had the ability to summon storms and perfect wifi no matter where she went in addition to her other magical and shapeshifting abilities. Being able to summon lightning meant her equipment was always charged too so that was helpful for a druid ‘roughing’ it.

“You might be a ranger Stubby, but she’s a druid. You both might have nature one your side but she can turn into animals and talk to them and people love animals.”

“I have animals in my videos.”

“You have animals that are running away from you little sister,” Vax said standing up giving his sister a kiss on the forehead since he knows how much she hates it. “Keyleth gets them to gather around her like she’s a Disney princess or something. And that’s not even getting to how she is with plants. Or she gets attacked by them which also leads to a lot of views because people like to see that sort of thing. I’m sorry but I don’t think you’re going to win this one. Especially since you want to keep my nephew out of the spotlight.”

“I swore I would never become a crazy stage mom and force Trinket in the spotlight for something as paltry as popularity. My child is a wild dangerous beast and my animal companion like the ones the rangers of old would ride into battle with. Not some dancing bear doing tricks for snacks and nose pats. The fact that he’s adorable and happens to love me with all his giant heart is a moot point,” Vex said matter-of-factly. She loved Trinket more than anything in this world, which is why she let him roam free in the wilds near Emon instead of stuck in her house like a pet.

“That makes me proud Stubby,” Vax said giving his sister the biggest sloppiest kisses he could muster on each cheek, one for him and one for his nephew. As she pushed him away he continued, “I know you’ve always wanted to be the type of successful woman that those bastards back in Syngorn would have to respect at least. But I’m glad you’re not willing to go crazy over that. I mean if winning three gold medals for archery in the past 3 olympic games didn’t make Syldor respect you, I doubt becoming internet famous will.”

“That might be because I competed on behalf of Emon and beat every pureblooded natural born son and daughter of Syngorn they sent up against me, along with the competitors from the Dwendali Empire, Marquet, and everywhere else,,” Vex said proudly. The memories of her father looking down on her archery skills back when she was 6 still hurt, he had only agreed to let her try after her stepmother convinced him to let her try. He had bet on her quitting in a week. Her stepmother had given her the gold piece when the two of them left to study abroad in Emon when they were 12. A reminder of the first time she forced her father to eat those words Devana said before sending her off with a kiss on the forehead and telling her to not make it the last.

“Syldor and the rest of them back in Syngorn would still respect you even if they hated you, the fact that they still don’t means they never will Stubby. So stop acting like having the best nature blog will make you anything more than an ambassador’s bastard half-blooded daughter to the stuffy elves back home and just enjoy your crush like a normal person,” Vax said as patiently as he could. He knew it probably wouldn’t get through, it wasn’t the first time they had this conversation, but Vex had a hard time letting their horrible childhood go.

“Whatever,” Vex said shrugging off her brother’s words, “why don’t you get out of here, I have a video to watch.”

Sighing Vax just decided to let it go, one issue at a time, “when you watch this time, maybe just forget about your one-sided rivalry with Keyleth for now and just watch her video. You know you always forget about how much you pretend to hate her once you see her break out in that embodiment of sunshine smile she always opens up with,” when Vex flipped him off in response he just let out a sigh and moved to the door. “Just try not to drool all over yourself this time or should I say don’t let her make you so mad you’ froth with rage,” he managed to say before he dashed out of the room dodging pillows that his sister was trying to assault him with.

Unfortunately for Vex this left her alone to deal with her brooding/crush over Keyleth. She wished Trinket was there, he always managed to make her feel better, but a bear wasn’t meant for a populated area, the woods near Emon were fine since he was less than a mile away at worst, but it still didn’t mean his absence wasn’t felt. She had a cabin deeper in the woods on private property that Trinket stayed in or around most days. It worked for Trinket and it worked for her wilderness videos.

She waited to watch the newest Druid Diaries, she knew it would be fantastic even if she could only see the thumbnail. It was of Keyleth sitting up in between two tree branches, she was smiling of course, wearing her classic green ensemble with her iconic antler crown framing her long mane of red hair. Initially she thought that Keyleth had a lot of followers and fans because she was a pretty girl. There were always idiots who followed pretty girls who made videos, Vex knew first hand when she was starting out, but that wasn’t the secret to Keyleth’s success. While she was adorably charming in a clumsy sort of way Keyleth did know her stuff when it came to animals and plants, even if she seemed a bit ditzy at first glance.

Quietly, Vex wondered where Keyleth was going to be shooting this month. The druid seemed a nomad at heart and despite loving each location she got to she only spent a month or so in an area to explore all the natural world had to offer with a video showing up each week before moving on. Vasselheim was an exception though, Keyleth seemed to fall in love with the ancient city and it’s forests full of magical beasts and stayed a whole 4 months before moving on. Her fans loved it though, everything from the forests and the monsters, to the way their idol had explored the ancient city. She had spent so long there that there was speculation on her forum that she had joined the legendary Slayer’s Take hunter’s guild.

Vex had always wanted to go but had never gotten the nerve to. But she would one day, she’d take Trinket there and explore the forests, see the wild magical beasts that hunted in those woods, maybe she’d even join the Slayer’s Take. It was supposed to be a pretty open guild, once you took a contract you needed to fulfill it but it also didn’t have a requirement to keep taking contracts.

That didn’t matter right now though, she had to watch the new video her enemy put out. Despite what her brother thought Vex did not find Keyleth attractive, just annoyingly beautiful and awkwardly charming, but not attractive no sir. Realizing she was just justifying her actions to herself, Vex let out a sigh and started Keyleth’s newest video. It was long enough that she’d by the time she finished she’d be able to watch Keyleth’s live Q&A segment that she always did after the first week. Every now and then her phone would go off to tell her that she had a new notification, something she normally checked religiously, but she ignored them, when it was Keyleth’s video watching time the building would be on fire and she wouldn't notice, which had happened before.

“Hey there Kikinuts,” Keyleth started out with her camera zoomed in way too far so they could only see her right eye. Vex gave a snort, this meant Keyleth was doing things solo, her best friend and camera man when he could Percy wouldn't have let her start a video like that. “Oh sorry, let me adjust that,” she said zooming out a bit until her whole face was in the video. “There we go,” Keyleth said giving the camera a smile and Vex felt her heart speed up. ‘Shut up Vax,’ she thought out loud to a brother that wasn’t there. Keyleth might have had the most gorgeous green eyes Vex had ever seen, but it was her face that she could, and have stared at for hours.

Vex couldn’t help but notice how the morning sun just lit up Keyleth’s long mane of untamed red hair like a sea of rubies or fire. She looked beautiful, Vex could admit that much as she sighed feeling the anger towards the innocent woman whose only crime was being more popular than she was and making her feel weird things.

“I hope you all enjoyed my last month in Whitestone, the home of my best friend and assistant Percival Fredrickstein Von Martini Koala De Rolo the Third,” she giggled. it was a running gag in her videos for Percy’s name to be unpronounceable to anyone other than him. “Unfortunately,” Keyleth said sobering up a bit, “Percy decided to take a bit of a leave of absence for a while. Don’t worry, we’re still a duo and having broken up or anything, he just needed some time to himself. Seeing his childhood home and his family made him feel a bit nostalgic so he decided to stay with them for a while to catch up. You can still keep up with him @Pderolo3 and of course you can follow me @TempestOfAntlers if you aren’t already. Remember if you like this video, leave a like and subscribe, maybe even a comment. Just a reminder because this is the first week of the month, I will be doing a live Q&A session 2 hours after the video airs so send in your questions. It’s weird to be saying that since it will be the future by then but it’s what we’ve been doing. Any way,” Keyleth said giving her fingers a snap, “now that that’s out of the way, we can start our video for real.”

It started off like it usually did with videos of her hiking for a bit and just enjoying the sounds of nature all around her. Vex didn’t usually like this part, it was fine but Keyleth did her best to be quiet for the first few minutes or so and as much as Vex loved nature, sometimes trees just looked like trees, and she had enough trees in whenever she went to visit Trinket. These trees didn’t look any different, which made Vex sit up, actually not only did they not look any different, those were the same trees she saw whenever she visited Trinket, the exact same trees. “Here I am in the Forests of Emon, the capital of Tal'Dorei, and home to Sovereign Uriel Tal’Dorei the Third,” Keyleth said breaking into the talking points of her show where she would list the history but Vex didn’t hear her. She was paralyzed frozen by the information that Keyleth Zephara was literally a few miles away in the forests she walked and hiked in for years.

It wasn’t until Keyleth got a familiar furry visitor, a large brown mass of fur lumbered into the clearing that Keyleth was currently filming in. The two of them stared at each other dumbstruck, neither expecting the other and Vex had a mini heart attack. She knew that Trinket was the sweetest being in creation, but he was still a wild animal, she knew that Trinket wouldn’t attack Keyleth but that didn’t mean that Keyleth wouldn’t attack him thinking she was in danger. Keyleth might not be a warrior, but she was a powerful druid, Vex had seen videos where Keyleth turned into sharks, or tigers, or giant rock monsters, she could destroy Trinket in a fight.

“Alright viewers,” Keyleth whispered into her camera, “I am going to show you how I deal with wild animals that could be potentially dangerous. Just a warning, don’t try this at home unless you are a druid to and even then, I wouldn’t recommend it.” With that she put her phone down so she was still in view, and for a minute she glowed.

Vex was about to run outside with her arrows, crush or not if Keyleth hurt her baby she’d shove an arrow so far up that bitch’s ass that. Luckily her rational side took over before she could do something stupid, it said that this video happened a week ago so even if she did rush out she’d be too late. Also, it said that she always knew when Trinket was in danger thanks to their bond so she had nothing to worry about. She had felt him be nervous during the storm that was after when Keyleth would have shot her video.

“Hello,” Keyleth said in a deeper voice than normal, “I am Keyleth,” her voice said was heavy and harsher than normal, like she was growling. Trinket just let out a large roar in response, Vex could tell he wasn’t angry or scared, just curious, “Oh, you speak common,” Keyleth said in response, “that makes things easier.”

Trinket growled back friendlier than before, “okay so you’re Trinket,” Keyleth responded, “it’s very nice to meet you Trinket,” she said giving Trinket a scratch on the chin. And Vex’s heart started to calm down a little, it also tried not to melt. Seeing the girl of her dreams befriending her son was not something she ever thought she’d see, but it did things to her. Not dirty things, but familial things that she hadn’t dreamed of feeling in a long time.

“You’re very nice for a wild bear,” Keyleth started to say, “I don't mean that other bears aren’t nice wild or not,” she said backtracking. “It’s just most wild bears I meet aren’t so nice or understand common. Oh you’re Vex’s bear,” Keyleth said excitedly and Vex’s heart just froze. The notifications were going off on her phone like crazy now and to the point where Vex had to plug her headphones into her laptop just so she could watch what could be her most important moment of her life. “Wow that’s amazing, I didn’t realize she had a bear, especially one as cute and cuddly as you,” she said in a cutesy baby tone as she gave Trinket a belly rub.

“No,” Keyleth responded to one of Trinket’s growls, “never meet Vex personally, I saw her up close once though,” she said surprising Vex. “It was during the games before last, I went there with my father to represent the Ashari tribes. We don’t exactly have the numbers for athletes to compete, but we were invited to spectate the games. It was a great honor for the tribes, but I was nervous, most of the competitors were hyper focused on their own events they didn’t have time for anyone who wasn’t a fellow athlete, a coach, or the press so I was lost. I didn’t feel like I belonged there so part of me wanted to just curl up and cry in my room from nerves and anxiety. Then at one of the dinner after the opening ceremonies, I saw her, arguing with another athlete form Syngorn despite her being a whole head shorter than him and probably ten years younger, and winning. I think probably the coolest girl I’ve ever seen and she was my age. I didn’t introduce myself back then, I was still too nervous to, but just seeing her stand up for herself made me feel braver. I kind of became a Vex fangirl after that,” Keyleth said kind of dreamily, maybe? It sounded dreamily to Vex who was trying really hard not to get her hopes up. This couldn’t’ be real right?

This couldn’t be happening, this was something after a cheesy romcom, granted it would normally happen with dogs opposed to bears, but Vex didn’t have a dog. “I went to each of her competitions and bought tons of her merchandise, I just was so into her.”

“Do you want to be,’ Vex thought absentminded, she really had no filter when she wasn’t paying attention.

“I got into vlogging because of her actually,” she said surprising Vex when she did. “I got a notification about her on google and saw her video for the first time and I don’t’ know I just subscribed then and there. Oh I don’t know why I’m tell you this Trinket,” Keyleth said looking cute and Vex thought her heart couldn’t take it.

“Oh Vex talked about me with you before,” Keyleth asked excitedly and Vex’s heart dropped, oh no.

For a moment she just watched and listened while Trinket growled amicably with a big smile on her face. Slowly though her smile seemed to fade slowly to the point where she Vex could hear Keyleth’s heart break, “I see she said that about me,” now it sounded like the Druid was about to cry. “I guess I could see that, she isn’t the first person to say things like that about me. I think we should move along, there are so many nice things to see in Emon,” but now she sounded like a carebear who was told love didn’t exist.

Vex’s alarm went off to let her know that Keyleth’s Q&A and Vex immediately shut her alarm off and saw she had hundreds of notifications. Some were “Why are you being mean to Keyleth,” or “I don’t get where you get off being mean to Keyleth, she’s great while you’re the worst,” which seeing how she was feeling right now she couldn’t disagree. Others were worse unfortunately, “I’m with you, Keyleth is an overrated bitch,” or “Keyleth is a cunt who doesn’t know anything and needs to shut her trap. Team Vex all the way,” which got a block from Vex right away. Even a few gross ones that say things like “if the two of you are going to have a fight you should film it with jello to boost both your views.” Honestly she wouldn’t mind getting jello with Keyleth, but she wasn’t’ going to have a catfight in it, at least not for people to watch.

Immediately she turned on Keyleth’s live stream and saw that the area she was filming in was partially destroyed. In the background of her shot though there was a cabin that looked far to familiar. “Hi there Kikinuts. There was a bit of a storm the last few days so sorry I’ve been out of communication. But I’m here and safe, my friend Trinket actually brought me to this nice cabin that belongs to his owner,” she gestured to the, “he took me to where the spare key was so we could both stay safe and dry. I just want you to know Ms. Vex’ahlia if you’re watching this I’m sorry, I never would have trespassed if it wasn’t an emergency. I’ll leave money for whatever I took to survive, I didn’t mean to intrude upon your space.”

“Oh fuck,” Vex swore aloud, the way Keyleth said her name now, it was so meek and formal, she’d talk to her father’s business associates like that growing up.

“Anyway, enough about me,” Keyleth said, “lets here from you guys, what do you want to ask me?” She started scrolling through the chat, “Alright let’s see here there…, there’s a lot of questions asking what the deal between me and Vex’ahlia,” Keyleth said with an aggravated sigh, “look, I don’t know. Like I said I was a huge fan of Vex, and if I could maybe talk to her, I still can be. I know this kind of seemed like I dropped this on you guys, but I’ve been wracking my brain over this for the last week. Maybe I insulted her some way when we were kids by accident or something, but I don’t really know what I could have done to make her…, upset with me but I don’t’ want to start guessing on here without talking to each other first. Since I’m in Emon I thought maybe I’d send her a message to see if we could meet up IRL and maybe clear the air without any cameras or people watching. Maybe I can apologize for whatever I did to offend her. Just don’t send her hate, like I said she’s still the coolest woman I’ve ever seen and Trinket here loves her,” she pointed over to Trinket the traitor who was just rolling around in the dirt being a happy bear. “He’s been talking about how much he loves his mommy all week and how great she is. So I’m sure this is just a problem on my end that I hope we can fix. I get enough hate because of what I do, I don’t ever want anyone else to experience that, especially over me,” her big green eyes were full of sincerity.

“Anyway,” she said trying to lighten the mood, “lets see about another question. Sorry, they’re going by really quickly so if I don’t’ get to yours I’m sorry, I’m not ignoring you it’s just hard to see them sometimes. Alright, how about this one,” she paused for a second before letting out a sigh of frustration, “no @AldarLoverL, I will not say what Vex said about me it’s private, she told her bear not me. I shouldn’t have learned it the way that I did so please stop asking. Moving on for…, are there any questions that aren’t about me and Vex’s so called feud?”

At that point Vex was already out the door rushing grabbing her keys and leaving her apartment. “Hey Vex,” Vax called her as she got to the front door, “are you watching…, I see you were watching Keyleth’s live stream.”

“I always do you know that, dear brother of mine,” Vex said trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. She loved her brother, her twin, the other part of her soul, but she needed to go to her cabin and clear the air. It was only a few miles away, on her bike she could be there in under 15 minutes.

“Are you really going to crash her livestream just to tell her that you don’t actually hate her?”

“Yeah or at least that was the plan,” she admitted, “she’s at my cabin with my son thinking that for the past week I hate her, I need to make things right. Now if you’ll excuse me,” and Vex was out the door quicker than her arrows. She tore down four flights of stairs faster than any sprinter she’d meet and got to the garage where she kept her other baby, “Death From Above”. It was a nice looking motorcycle that Vex loved to ride, she had beaten some crazy dragonborn necromancer in pool for it but it was hers. DFA was loud but it was fast and it got her where she was going and it made Vex feel like she was flying.

It was a quick ride, luckily there was no traffic the way to the cabin, once she was off the main road it was just a barely paved dirt road to get to her little slice of heaven. By the time she got to the cabin her heart was still pounding, she all but jumped off her bike and ran to the back where she recognized Keyleth was filming. She got back there right as she started to realize she had no idea what she was doing, Keyleth was still shooting her Q&A, it usually lasted an hour. Vex’s body moved before her mind could catch up and she was around the corner face to face with Keyleth before she realized these things.

Sweet Pelor the Ashari woman was more beautiful and cute in person, for a good thirty seconds they looked at each other not saying anything, Keyleth shocked just as much as she was. “I was watching your stream,” Vex started to explain, “after watching your last video. I saw you were at my cabin and were talking to my bear. I just wanted to say I don’t’ hate you, Trinket made a mistake. And now I realize how unprofessional this is, crashing your shoot,” Vex said awkwardly slinking behind the corner of her cabin embarrassed.

“Excuse me,” Vex heard Keyleth say to her viewers, and followed Vex.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Vex said her head in her hands sitting on the deck of the cabin That was one of the most embarrassing things that she had done.

“No, you don’t have to apologize for anything,” Keyleth assured her, “I mean it’s your cabin after all, I’m just trespassing.”

“Trinket showed you where the key was, that means you’re a guest,” Vex said giving her an attempt at a smile.

“This is not how I expected to meet you,” Keyleth said taking a seat next to Vex on the porch.

“Well if we’re being fair I didn’t you’d ever talk to my bear and spend the week thinking I hated you,” Vex said

“So…, you don’t hate me,” Keyleth asked quietly unsure if she was going to like the answer. “Trinket said you don’t say a lot of good things about me when you talk to him.”

“I promise Keyleth I don’t’ hate you,” Vex swore, “Look, it’s nothing you did, I just…, I have issues. I promise, I’ll make a video telling everyone that I don’t’ hate you, post an apology letter, anything you want. I owe you that much.”

“Well…,” Keyleth said thinking, “I mean you already said you didn’t hate me in my segment. Do you maybe want to come on with me and we can put the rumors to death for real?”

“You really don’t’ mind if I’m in your video,” Vex asked incredulously. She expected Keyleth to hate her for making her think that she was hated.

“I mean I kind of dreamed of collaborated with you for a while,” Keyleth said her cheeks red, “I wasn’t lying when I said you were the reason I got into making videos.”

“Let’s do it, if it’s really okay,” Vex said standing up face to face with Keyleth. She never realized how tall Keyleth was, even without the antlers she was almost half a foot taller than Vex. It was kind of a turn on.

“Great,” Keyleth said jumping up and down in excitement and hugged her. Vex never thought she’d feel like Elenore to Keyleth’s Tahani but, to quote the Good Place, “of course your hugs are amazing.”

Five minutes later they were in front of Keyleth’s camera starting their collaboration. “Hi Kikinuts, I’m back, sorry about that. I just had to work a few things out with my special surprise guest, Vex’ahlia of Vex’halia’s Visions.”

“That’s Keyleth, you can call me Vex though,” Vex said, not wanting to tell her that she liked it when Keyleth used her shortened name, it made her smile. “I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by,” she cursed herself for sounding so stupid. Of course, she was in the neighborhood this was her cabin. “I was watching your lasted video, which was great by the way,” she said turning to Keyleth, “you know up until you met Trinket, my animal companion.”

“Yeah, he’s wonderful but I think we got a bit confused,” Keyleth admitted.

“He’s my beautiful baby boy, but as much as I love him, he’s still a bear and doesn’t always understand the things I tell him. So I’m sorry about that, I can defanetly say that I don’t hate you Keyleth, I’ve actually a big fan. Subscribed the moment I saw your videos.”

“Well that’s really sweet, I’m glad that we got all that cleared out of the way, because like I said I’m a big fan of yours too,” Keyleth said giving her warm smile that shot through the heart. “Hear that views, Vex doesn’t hate me and I don’t hate her so maybe we can drop the whole thing, it was a misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really mean it when I said those things to him about you,” Vex explained without thinking, only to realize what she said when they came out of her mouth.

“Oh,” Keyleth said and the look on her face could make puppies cry, “so you did say those things about me.”

“Keyleth not like that,” Vex said she was normally so cool and good with her words, what was it about this girl that made her so stupid.

“It’s fine Vex,” Keyleth said trying to keep her smile on her face despite also looking like she was going to cry.

“I’m such an ass, it really wasn’t like that Keyleth,” Vex said turning away and saw the chat was exploding asking them over and over what she meant, or what she said. It was starting to get aggravating.

“Vex,” Keyleth said meeting her eye, despite looking hurt the druid’s eyes were also strong, “it’s okay, you said you don’t hate me and are a fan and I believe you. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“Keyleth..,” Vex started she’d rather be vulnerable than let Keyleth think she hated her. “It’s true, I said those horrible things about you, I’d say it pretty often, Trinket being a bear only knows the words. If he was a person he might understand the nuance a bit better. I’m not exactly the best person, I’m really competitive and don’t really know…, pretty girls make me stupid, especially the ones that I have a crush on, not the best combination,” and there it was she just admitted in front of all Keyleth’s fans and the woman herself that she had a crush on her. “Like I said, if Trinket was a people person maybe he’d understand that, since all my friends have told me I have a crush on you despite my name calling.” There it was, Vex didn’t do vulnerable, but hey, it was a crazy situation and she didn’t have time to think about it.

“Oh,” was all Keyleth could say as she blushed as red as her hair.

“You don’t’ have to say anything,” Vex assured her. “I know this isn’t how you thought your day was going to go I just felt like being honest to avoid any more confusion.”

Keyleth started to hyperventilate and pulled out a paper bag. Vex was right, this definitely wasn’t how she expected her day to go. “Shit,” Vex said and rushed into the house to fetch Keyleth a glass of water. By the time she was back Keyleth seemed to calm down a little, at least enough to drink the glass of water. “I’m really sorry about that, I didn’t expect that reaction,”

“No need to apologize,” Keyleth said after finishing the water, “its just not everyday your first crush surprises you a dozen times over and admits to having a crush on you. Let’s turn this off,” she said jumping up and turning her camera off to the outrage of the chat. “We’ll tell you guys about what happens later,” Keyleth promised before signing off. She started to pinch her arm wondering if this was all just a crazy dream, maybe she died in the storm and this was hell.

“We don’t’ have to do anything about this Keyleth, hell, we didn’t even know each other before today. If you want we could write the whole thing off as a skit we made together to show people we don’t’ actually hate each other. We can say it was my idea,” Vex offered.

“I don’t want to do that,” Keyleth said firmly, “I’m not going to lie about how I feel. It’s just,” she started to say her face falling, “I’ve never dated anyone before, I’m a mess when it comes to talking to people, that’s why I move around so much and shoot videos in the woods with my only friend. I’ve had a crush on you for so long, but it’s always been from a far. What happens if I ruin that, what happens when I ruin that, I won’t even have my stupid childish crush to fall back on.”

“Well why don’t we start off small,” Vex suggested, “we don’t have to get together and go steady right now, maybe we can start off with something small. My name is Vex’ahlia Vessar, I’m a nature vlogger and 3 time gold winning medalist in archery,” she said holding out her hand, “it’s nice to meet you.”

For a moment Keyleth could only laugh, not at Vex, but at the whole situation, still, she took Vex’s outstretched hand, “Keyleth Zephara of the Ashari, the future voice of the Tempest and a nature vlogger as well.”

Those little gestures became conversations, those conversations became long talks and before you knew it, like and then love. Keyleth wound up spending a record six months in Emon, despite the forests being nice but not impressive. If it was Vex and Trinket’s home then it was the most amazing place in the world. And when she left Emon after those six months, she didn’t leave alone, she was never alone again.

I really needed to wrap that up, the ending was getting away from me. This was supposed to be a quick silly modern youtuber au that got out of hand. Originally it was supposed to end with Trinket telling Keyleth about Vex’s crush on her, but for some reason I added a lot of unnecessary drama. Oh well it’s done and I hope you enjoyed it. I realize that the characters are kind of ooc, but like I said they kind of got away from me.

I also don’t know why I made Vex an Olympic athelet, it just kind of fit since she is a ranger class still, despite the world not really needing adventurers as much as it did in the old days. Still, I did it and it’s done. For anyone interested, I’d say that they’re around level 10, sort of when everything picks up in the campaign.

#critical role #vox machina #vexleth #vex #vex'ahlia #keyleth #keyleth of the air ashari #crfemslashweek #critrolefemslashweek #fanfiction #fanfic

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phemiec · 6 years

Note

who are your favorite critrole characters in campaign 1 & 2? :>

Campaign 1: In order from most fav to least

Grog!!! is my favorite! He is so funny, and so good, and Travis plays him so freaking well. You can tell he had such a good grasp on this character and his improv chops really shine through playing him, anytime he says or does anything it’s an absolute delight.

Scanlan! A very close second to grog, Almost tied. Sam is a genius, and I’m really convinced after seeing him play scanlan AND nott now that he’s just….got this really special ability to create a character and develop them slowly and satisfyingly, to take a character that could be a one note joke in someone elses hands and turn them into a deep and compelling layered real person. He kind of reminds me of Justin Mcelroy in that respect. You can tell how much he cares about his characters. Scanlan grew on me so much and I just adore him.

Vax: i’m sorry but this long haired angsty anime boy who loves his sister more than life was bound to make me fall in love.

Vex: likewise, this incredibly savvy and cool and charming but secretly insecure badass elf lady with a giant pet bear was ALSO bound to make me fall in love. Her and vax are tied, and their relationship is one of the highpoints of S1 for me. I’m a sucker for siblings.

percy, pike and keyleth don’t do as much for me but they’re still enjoyable to watch :)

Campaign 2: In order from most fav to least

NOTT!!!!! I love this character so much she is so much of what I’ve always wanted in a character, and sam plays her so beautifully. She has the perfect mix of lovely and monstrous, she’s the ugly heroine I’ve always wanted to see, unbeautiful but not unloved or unvalued, she is observant and caring and generous and wise and brave, but also haunted and anxious and animalistic and self defacing. She just has so many levels and still manages to be so funny and cute while also being one of the cleverest and most mature of the group. She just loves her boy and her new family so much. And I can tell there’s even more depth to her character we haven’t even skimmed the surface of yet.

Beau!!! I really love how marisha plays this character, I kind of think this character is just really perfect for her? Beau is just so relatable. She’s awkward and abrasive and unpalatable and feels like she shouldn’t be who she is, yet can’t HELP but be who she is and that’s so real. I like the dynamic between her being physically graceful and cool yet socially clumsy and emotionally disastrous, shes the right balance of bottled up insecurity and macho posturing and I just love her. The gay punk monk of my heart.

Jester! : Is played so well, Laura has such acting chops it’s unreal and her sense of humor is really getting to shine in this campaign. Jester is adorable and bubbly but she’s gone so beyond being a Manic Pixie Dream Tiefling, she has depth and emotionality and subtlety that is really nice to watch as it unveils. And her voice is adorable.

Caduceus! Best boy, I love him so much already. He’s so new yet already so unique and layered, this most recent episode pushed his character to very cool places and Taliesen did a great job respecting the character he’d created. I’ve never really seen a character exactly like the deuce and I just hope he stays safe because I love him.

Caleb! Is also very good, funny yet tragic, complex and played very well. And his friendship with Nott fuels me so, gotta love him.

Yasha is cool but Ashleys gone so much I havent gotten to see as much of her as I’d like :p And Ironically, with Grog being my fav of S1, Fjord isn’t doing much for me right now, and I’m pretty sure that’s because his choices feel inconsistent, however, I’m pretty sure they’re not actually inconsistent, It’s just that travis is hiding a lot right now about Fjord, playing his past and motivations close to the chest. He might go higher up the list as things develop, who knows? Molly also didn’t do much for me and I’m sorry about that :{ I’m sure he would have if we’d gotten a chance to know him longer, but c’est la vie. Maybe he’ll be back? Who knows.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #nott #grog #cr #asks #anonymous #long post #thanks for giving me an excuse to gush lol

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luxheroica · 7 years

Text

The Next Time Round [CritRole Exalted AU]

So @blackestglass asked me for a Perc’ahlia Reincarnated Soulmates AU, and I’m saving the prompt for a write-later type of circumstance, but I decided to take the opportunity to write the very specific AU that I’m probably the only person interested in based on one of my very favorite Tabletop RPGs. So, for all five people who are interested, have a Critical Role Exalted AU. (You probably don’t need knowledge of Exalted to know what the hell is going on, but it might help.)

[Also on AO3]

[More about the AU]

The Nexus jail cell was a filthy wreck. Vex’s sense of smell revolted at the stench of standing water, mildew and human waste. She had taken point for their motley band which for this venture did not include the two Solars because they were both-- rather conspicuous in their own way. Beside her Trinket groaned and Vex winced, wondering how much worse her bear must experience these smells. Her boot squelched in something unrecognizable. Vex made a face, and prayed that she had not just stepped in shit. These boots were new-ish.

“Brother,” Vex said, sickeningly sweet. “The Clasp is really starting to become a pain in the behind.”

The Clasp was one of the many gangs of thieves that had the run of Nexus, a thieves paradise. Vax had been one of them once, right after the both of them had Exalted, which made dealing with them kind of a pain in the ass. They couldn’t exactly say no when a Lunar decided he was done with gangs but they could make any future dealings unpleasant.

“Do you really expect me to disagree with that?” Vax asked. Vex sighed and shook her head. “The sooner we get through this the sooner Spireling Shenn introduces us to his Guilt contacts and we can be on our way.”

“How did you get involved in the Clasp anyways?” Keyleth asked, coming up behind Vax.

“It’s a long story,” Vax said.

Vex rolled her eyes. “Just drop it Keyleth-- he won’t even tell me. It’s something to do with how he Exalted.”

Neither Vex nor Vax had ever told one another about their Exaltations. It was maybe the only thing the twins had not shared with each other. Vex could still recall perfectly that iron cage, the feeling of being helpless, then grabbing the poacher’s knife and butchering him with it and the rush of divine power that flowed through her as she did. She’d stumbled home with a bear cub and the blessing of Luna and no way to explain either to her brother only to find that he had secrets of his own he wished to keep.

“Oh,” Keyleth said, looking doe-eyed at Vax. “Well I’m always curious about other Lunars-- I’d love to hear it.”

“Maybe later,” was all that Vax said, which was more than Vex had ever gotten out of her twin concerning his Exaltation.

Vex’ahlia’s mentor had told her and Vax that the proper term for a group of Lunars working together was a “pack”. Vex wasn’t fully sold on the idea that Keyleth and Grog behind her were pack material but they’d been in a few scrapes together and she’d started to slowly trust them. Keyleth was one of those sweetness-and-light, we all must come together to protect Gaia type of Lunars. She’d gotten very excited about all of the Lunars going on an adventure together.

Grog Strongjaw was, on the other hand, the fight everything and ask questions later type of Lunar. He had already handily dispatched the guards of this tiny prison, turning into a hulking creature that was part-man part-hippopotamus and all-destruction and tearing them apart like they were tissue paper. Vex hadn’t even had to draw her bow.

“Hey guys,” he said, waving at a dark spot not illuminated by the dim torchlight. “I think there’s another floor down here.”

Vex walked over to investigate. There was indeed a rickety ladder leading down another level into pitch blackness. The mildew was worse down there but the scent of human excrement less so. Vex could just barely see stale water shining down at the bottom.

“Me and Vax will go down,” she decided, glancing around at the small group. “You and Keyleth search and see if you can find a desk or a satchel or-- somewhere else where they might keep papers here.”

Trinket whined, a plaintive what-about-me noise.

“Trinket can stay up here with us,” Keyleth suggested. She scratched Trinket under the chin and the bear readily accepted the affection. “Don’t you want to stick with us, Trinket?”

Trinket growled happily. Vex waved her bear on.

Trinket lumbered off after Keyleth and Grog to search the rest of the floor. Vex took a deep breath and leaped down the hole rather than trust her weight to the rotting ladder. She landed with a satisfying splash, spraying stale water everywhere.

It was pitch black down in the hole, the torchlight from up above illuminating only a tiny circle around Vex. She put two fingers to her forehead and concentrated. The area blazed, lit up by moonlight a hundred times stronger than the brightest full moon emanating from Vex’s forehead. It lit up another long bank of cells.

With the light came an itch at the back of Vex’s feet. Keep walking, it said, the physical need to keep moving forward almost overpowering. Just a little further.

Vex, seeing no reason to ignore this inner urge and needing to give Vax room for the jump down, continued further into the prison. She did not run forwards as her feet were telling her. Vex had spent her time cultivating good sense and she wasn’t about to go running into the unknown.

“What do you see down there?” Vax’s voice echoed from up above. “Do you see any papers?”

“No papers!” Vex called back. “Come join me down here, it’s very lovely!”

“Quit pulling my leg.”

“No really, it’s like the Imperial Palace down here! Silk sheets and gold leaf and servants carrying exotic fruits on platters! The Empress would be jealous of this place.”

“Haha,” Vax said sarcastically. It was accompanied by a strangled laugh in the darkness.

Vex went perfectly still, looking for where that laugh came from. Water drip-drip-dripped in the long silence. “Is someone there?” she called loudly.

“You’re looking for paperwork, aren’t you?” a voice said at last out of the darkness. Male, cultured, with maybe a hint of a Northern accent? “I’ll help you find it if you let me out of here.”

Vex crept forward, one tiny footstep at a time, on guard for anything. She wouldn’t put it past the Clasp to get the jump on them by making them put their guard down for a prisoner. But something-- something that she couldn’t have explained if she were asked-- said that this wasn’t the case. The light of her caste mark illuminating everything with a pale glow, Vex rounded the corner and peered into the jail cell.

The man inside was filthy, covered top to toe in dirt, so that Vex couldn’t even see what color his coat was. His shock of white hair was plastered to his forehead by a steady drip of water from above, and he’d retreated to the only dry patch of floor. Vex’s first thought was pity. She’d seen plenty of wretchedness in this wretched city, but he just looked so miserable.

The man in the cell looked up and his blue eyes met Vex’s.

Vex just stared. She was rooted to the spot, could not move if she tried. Something deep in her soul shifted, turned, came right.

She found herself lost in memory she’d never had. A workshop full of ancient tools she had no names for but which were intimately familiar, leaning over an oak workbench that smelled of soot and chemicals. The remembered smell was so strong it overpowered the stagnant water smell of the cell. The man in the workshop wore a different face but he was the same man.

A hand on her shoulder jolted Vex out of-- whatever that was.

“Vex?” Vax asked, concerned. “Are you alright?”

Vex blinked and she was fine and whatever strangeness that had come over her looking at the man in the cell was gone. “Yes, fine,” she said. “Can you get this lock? He says he knows where the papers we’re looking for are.”

The man in the cell nodded. “Yes,” he said, some bit of that urbane charm disturbed. Vex wondered if he’d experienced just the same strangeness she had. “I can show you to where they’re kept if you’d open the cell. I’d like to get out, if I can.”

Vax frowned, sizing up the stranger. Vex also took another long look at him, wondering just what about him had triggered such a strong reaction. Whatever it was had ebbed.

“Look, I hope you don’t mind if we have you walk in front of us,” Vax said darkly. “We’re not very trusting folk lately.”

The man in the cell nodded. “I understand,” he said. “You’re Exalts, aren’t you? That’s not a fight I want to pick-- not that I was thinking of it in the first place, mind you.”

Vex raised an eyebrow, surprised that he’d used the proper term instead of the more popular “anathema”. He didn’t recoil from the brand burning on Vex’s forehead either, instead seeming quite comfortable with the concept. Most people in Nexus would work with Anathema if the price was right, but there was usually a visual discomfort.

“That’s right,” Vax said. “So don’t try anything.”

Vex watched as her brother pulled out his lockpicks. The white haired man in the cell remained towards the back wall, but he leaned unconsciously towards the door, towards freedom. At last the iron door swung open with a creak.

The white haired man exited the cell while Vex and Vax waited. He started to lead the way briskly down the hall, towards the end of the row of cells. Vex exchanged a look with Vax and then followed closely behind.

“Thank you for getting me out of there,” the white-haired man said. “It’s not a place I would have chosen to stay, if I’d had any choice in the matter.”

“I doubt it’s a place anyone would choose to stay,” Vex said. “No offense but you look like you need a bath-- badly.”

The white-haired man chuckled. Once again it tugged something in Vex. “The warden kept his papers through here,” he said. “And I’ll be able to retrieve my weapons as well.”

“Weapons?” Vex asked, suspicious.

“If you broke in here, there’s probably more guards on the way,” the white-haired man said. He carefully opened the door to what appeared to be an office, furnished with several moldering bookshelves. “You might be a couple of very powerful Exalts, but I’d rather not trust my fate just to your skill.”

Vex and Vax exchanged another look, Vax silently asking if Vex trusted this stranger and Vex shrugging as if to say, ‘I’m not sure but I think between us we could take him.’

“You don’t call us anathema,” Vex said, peering at the man as he started going through the desk drawers. He opened a drawer and drew out a shortsword and a curved rod with a barrel at the end of some construction Vex had never seen. “Why not?”

The white-haired man made a face that Vex couldn’t quite decipher. “Let’s just say I have some experience with the subject, and I don’t subscribe to Immaculate teachings.” He secured the strange device in his coat and stepped back from the desk. “Whatever papers you’re looking for should be in there.”

Vax started going through the desk while Vex watched their unexpected ally closely.

“You have some experience with the subject?” Vex repeated the white-haired man’s phrasing, cocking her eyebrow at him. “What’s that?”

“A very long story,” the man said. “One I’d be all too happy to tell once we get out of here, and have a bit more time.”

Vex frowned, wondering if she should trust that. But he was right, they were working on a bit of a time crunch. “Well then, can we at least know your name?”

The white-haired man held out his hand to shake. “Percival Fredrickstein von Mussel Klossowski de Rolo III,” he said.

Vex reached out and shook the hand of Percival Fredrickstein von Mussel Klossowski de Rolo III. When her hand touched his, a tangible shock ran up her arm. From the surprised look in Percival’s eyes, he felt it too.

“Seems like nothing about you is short, Percy,” Vex said. That earned a quick smile from him, and Vex found herself smiling back, though she wasn’t entirely sure why. “I’m Vex and that’s my brother Vax, and we’ve got two more upstairs.”

“Excellent,” Percy said. “Then let’s get out of here.”

#critical role #perc'ahlia #exalted #my writing #lunar/solar bonds are constantly my aesthetic #extremely specific aus only i would be interested in

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