#i just really love percy and vex you guys

[finn-writes-stuff]

are you still accepting headcanon requests ? if yes, please can I request having an s/o who has pain issues due to an old injury and struggles to sleep alone? with Percy, Vax and Vex if possible 🥺

Chronic

It is always easier to fall asleep with their arms around you.

Percy, Vax & Vex x Reader

Fandom: The Legend of Vox Machina/ Critical Role

Format: Headcanons

Warnings: Brief mention of nightmares

Gender Neutral Reader

Masterlist

I am so sorry to everyone following me for other fandoms right now, My brain is full of tlovm content and it is all I am writing -Finn

Percy

Percy also struggles with falling asleep alone due to frequent nightmares, so this arrangement suits you both.

He sleeps with his arms wrapped around your waist to keep you close to his chest. It lets him know that you're both safe.

If there are any other things that tend to help with the pain, he'll try to add them to the nightly routine. He enjoys having a specific routine before getting to bed, and adding steps that make it easier for you to get to sleep makes sense.

If you wake up in the middle of the night, he's a fairly light sleeper and will likely wake up as well. He doesn't complain though, only does his best to help you fall asleep again.

He is too stubborn to wake you up when nightmares wake him though. He's a hypocrite about it.

Vax

Vax loves sharing a bed with you but he can be awful to sleep with. He's all long limbs and he spreads out in his sleep to take up the entire bed. He also runs cold and piles on blankets.

He will do his best for you though, even if it's difficult to keep everything under control in his sleep.

The most effective strategy is usually tangling his legs with yours and falling asleep looking at you. He's more curled up, and he falls asleep smiling.

He is good with his hands, it's part of his class. So this man gives master-class massages. If that is able to ease your pain, take advantage of it. If it doesn't? Still take advantage of it.

You can't love one twin without being close to the other. Don't be surprised when Vex falls asleep in the same room after Vex does something stupid in a fight.

Vex

Vexhalia is a big cuddler. It doesn't matter how cool and composed she is during the day, at night she is used to having someone to cling to and If you're in the bed with her, you will not escape it.

She tends to either lay on your chest or have you lay on hers. It means you guys are about as close as can be and she can play with your hair as you fall asleep.

If you leave too much extra space on the bed, Trinket will take it as an invitation. Vex is bad at discouraging this. Trinket does function like a space heater though, so he's very helpful on cold nights.

On bad nights, when you can't get to sleep even with her there, she will stay up with you and chat as she holds you. Even if she can't help with the pain, she isn't going to leave you to deal with it alone.

Vex really enjoys having a stupidly large bed because she is used to people pushing their way in. After a particularly harrowing adventure, you may find Vax and Trinket both there. It's just part of sleeping in her room.

[innocent-cat]

May I request an angsty Vax (vox machina) x reader, where the reader likes Vax but he doesn't know it especially paired with his feeling for Keyleth at the time. But when he figures out he rethinks his feelings, but by then the reader feels like the Second pick. (It can have a happy or angsty ending, whatever feels right to you)

GUYS IM BACK!!!! have this and two others im keeping on the burner to write. There were five, so if you don't see your's pop up anytime soon, its because I didn't know how to write it. Loved the ideas, though◡̈

Vax'ildan Vessar x Reader

Warnings - None

"An option, never his priority.", Vax x Reader

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

The fire whips in the direction of the wind and crackles in defiance against the small pellets of snow fall onto it, burning the firewood, which was already charred on nearly every side.

You sat next to your best friend, Vex, who had known about your love for Vax for months now. All she could feel was pity for you when she watches you stare off into the dark and starry night, looking anywhere except the two people in front of you.

Vax and Keyleth. Vax shot empty flirts at Keyleth without any reaction from her, as she blankly looks into the fire uninterested in him.

From the corner of your own eyes, you can feel Vex looking at you with a look on her face that you hated. It felt embarrassing for her to give you that look of empathy for so long, and it brought you back to the moment.

Taking a deep breath in through your nose, you held it for just a second. You let it out through your mouth and watch the air fog for just a moment. You look at Vex through the side of your eye, making eye contact, and she quickly looks away.

You sigh. The silence between the entire group was killing you, and you caught second hand embarrassment from Vax flirting with Keyleth like no one could hear them.

To be fair, no one but you and Vex were paying attention. Percy was tinkering with something that you couldn't be bothered enough to ask about, Pike and Grog were fast asleep. How could they fall asleep so quickly in this cold?

You slid off the log you sat on, the rough texture of the bark along it pushed against you and the snow crunched under your feet when you stood. Without looking around, you simply walk away into the snowed in forest.

"If you get lost just give us a shout." Vex's voice ringed through your ears, and you gave her a nod without turning to look at her.

Snow continued to crunch under your feet as you trudged into the forest. It was extremely dark, and the trees made you feel crowded. The trees rock as you push the pines out of the way, feeling the snow piled on them seep into your mittens, creating a soggy feeling on your hands.

Turning to an opening, you see a few logs turned to one another. It seems another group of travelers had passed through here once or twice before too. The world is really small, anyway. Not too hard to think about. You cast a fire spell on their old fire pit, watching the charcoal burn again. You sit down on a log, and stare into the sky, enjoying lonesomeness.

//////////////

(third person POV switch)

Keyleth awkwardly stood up and followed you after a few minutes of awkwardness with Vax. She tightly gripped and wrapped her faux coat around herself. Vex and Vax make eye contact, and glance between themselves and Percy. Vex shrugs and speaks.

"You know she doesn't love you. Quit bothering the poor girl, Vax."

Percy glances up at the siblings, but opts to continue fixing and cleaning his trinket.

Vax sighs, and turns his face away from Vex, not saying a word, waiting for her to say something he would choose to continue off of.

Vex scoffs at his stubbornness to the conversation. "Have you ever paid attention to how they look at you? YOU guys would work out. Not you and Keyleth!" Vex's accent gets thicker as she continues to voice her complaints about Vax's irony to not notice anything around him.

Vax pauses, and looks as if he's thinking to himself and piecing together evidence in his head.

"...You mean to tell me, that this whole time, all those gifts, and all the times they've been flustered without reason, was because they're in love with me?" Vax mumbled to Vex, still putting it together.

Out of the corner of her eye, Vex could see Percy rolling his eyes to their conversation. It was obvious he could tell too, in fact, him and Vex had spoken about it a few times when they had nothing better to do.

Now, it's Vex's turn to roll her eyes. And that she did. "What do you think I just said to you?" She scoffs after her sentence is stated.

Silence falls over the two and only the wind, the crackling fire, and Percy's tinkering can be heard. Soft crunching and talking can be heard from the forest.

(3rd person POV switch)

I softly laugh with Keyleth as we step back to the group's makeshift firepit. Before I can sit, Keyleth sits next to Vex, which forces me to sit next to Vax. Before I do, Vex waves me over and whispers into my ear.

"I told him"

I give her an annoyed look and she smiles smugly at me. I quickly turn before anything can be insinuated between the others and sit next to Vax.

This time, Vax seemed to be nervous to sit next to me. He was drooling over Keyleth just a second ago, You couldn't understand how he could change his mind so fast.

You close your eyes and decide not to think about it, trying to sleep quietly. It was late, and you were too tired to talk after the grueling work done today, which had to be followed with miles of walking to do the next morning.

When Vax notices this, he wraps his arm around you and pulls you in to rest on his shoulder. While his touch his warm, and something you've yearned for, you didn't like it. You didn't welcome it.

It wasn't what you yearned for. It felt forced.

The vibrations of his voice rumbles on his chest, and you could feel it in your head, but your hearing was muffled. It felt like you could hear their conversation in another room. You felt him hesitate when talking to Keyleth, but he spoke to her in that same tone.

He was settling for you.

You could feel an unsettling sense in your stomach, it made you uncomfortable, and it made you squirm.

You didn't want to be his second choice.

[hopefulfuturenovelauthor]

Headcanons of what's like to date Pike, Grog, Scanlan, Vex, Keyleth, Percy, and Vax?

Vox Machina Relationship Headcannons...

I did not check for grammar mistakes, sorry. Also, please do not copy my work in any way, thank you. Enjoy!

A/n: I’ve typed couple so much now it seems really funny and sounds weird now 😂.

Vax:

Are they a couple? couple

-alright, so I kid you not, people have no clue you are a thing until you blatantly tell them. 

-Most people don’t even realize you are that close.

-Vex only knows about you two because Vax is her brother. Out of Vox Machina Grog is the only other one that knows you are a couple and Percy just thinks you both have feelings for each other. Scanlan can’t even tell and he knows everything when it comes to the mercenaries' romantic lives.

-You aren’t secretive in your relationship, you are both just far more reserved. Neither of you is huge into PDA and you are both very sneaky.

-it is not hard for the two of you to escape from your friends to be alone together or to flirt in front of others without them recognizing it.

-you both are always next to each other too. No matter if you were fighting, eating, or in a cart you were always at each other’s side.

-Vax absolutely adores you and you feel the same. You are both entirely supportive of one another. 

-when you are drunk you both show more affection towards each other. Then again you both show more affection towards everyone. When one of you have had something to drink, that one tends to always be touching the other, whether it’s hand holding, foot nudging, or just leaning on the other.

-your relationship with Vax is revealed to the group when Scanlan and Pike find you both making out in a closet in a pub.

-Pike’s reaction was far less inappropriate than Scanlans which was somewhere along the lines of “I don’t know when this started, but I would love to join.”

-after that Pike just goes pink, scolding Scanlan. You all return to the group.

-when Scanlan reveals what he saw the other two are in shock, while Grog just says, “You didn’t know?”

-“wait, you knew?” Pike questioned.

-“yeah, wasn’t it obvious. They flirt like all the time. Did none of you notice?”

Vex:

Chill couple

-super, super chill. You guys are like the cool couple that everyone thinks is awesome. 

-you are both great with nature and your perspective weapons. Vex sticks with her bow, while your weapon of choice is the chain-sickle. However, you tend to stick with knives more often than not because of the clumsy ness of your own group.

-(we’ll skip over the time your weapon wrapped around Scanlan pinning his arms to his side. His comments on that experience were not something Vex liked. Scanlan was scared shitless of your girlfriend for days)

-you both like to spend time talking and bonding while sharpening knives and creating arrowheads.

-Neither if you care for extreme pda. Most of the time you elbow and nudge each other or rest your arm on the other’s shoulders.

-you both enjoy making the other flustered in certain situations. You both never take it too far though. To get her flustered all you have to do is kiss her cheek lightly and lingering, somewhat ghostly and fairly intimately. To get you flustered she grabs your chin with her hand and carefully places her lips on yours for a few seconds.

-The entire group is very supportive of your relationship. Percy and Vax are very supportive. Sometimes Vax and Scanlan make fun of the two of you a little bit because of how close you are.

-you both also like never fight. Really, you don’t get in arguments that much and are typically always on the same page.

-as chill as you both are, Scanlan will make comments that set Vex off. You tend to hold her back and calm her down. Most of the time you just hold her hand and rub circles in her knuckles with your thumb.

-sometimes when you're feeling anxious or bored she’ll let you braid her hair.

-you guys like definitely cuddle up together before bed or when you are just chilling. Sometimes you sit between her legs. Other times you sit behind her off of the ground messing with her hair. Once more, you definitely do the arm over the shoulders. It’s great for whispering to the other.

-also and lastly, you guys have like an infinite amount of inside jokes.

Pike:

Best friends couple

-best friend goals right here. Like you are so romantically and platonically meant for each other. 

-people honestly can’t tell if your in a relationship or just friends until someone says it outright or you kiss or something.

-Pike is so sweet and you are too. Pike you and Grog are like the most kind group and Grog loves to get in on hug reunions when you guys haven’t seen each other in a while.

-Pike and you are both very supportive people and it’s really great for the both of you cause at times you both definitely need it.

-no doubt, having you by her side definitely helps with her faith.

-you do not keep anything from one another. Like at all. Whatever one of you knows the other knows too. There is no doubt that she knows everything about you.

-once more you are besties in love.  Totally started as friends but wanted more but didn’t want to ruin your friendship. When you both told each other this you definitely laughed it all off. Life partners and partner goals definitely met.

-I cannot explain it, but while Grog is like your guys biggest supporter the close second is definitely Scanlan.

- He is like super close to you. Definitely very good friends and always pushes you and Pike together, even before you were a couple.

-you and Pike like to hold hands and lean your heads against each other.

-pda isn’t huge on your guys front other than that.

-you both definitely get super like crazy when drunk. Combo moves with her magic and singing songs while swaying together.

-definitely the kind of couple that makes and wears flower crowns for the other person.

-totally cute, totally loved by everyone.

Scanlan:

Power-couple

-So, surprisingly Scanlan is like super soft for you unlike what others would think.

-total gentleman except for when his mind is in other places.

-power couple, not because everyone loves you and wants to be you, but like you together is like more powerful than either of you could ever be alone.

-definitely smarter together. You are like one functional person which separated you two aren’t really.

-you both create elaborate schemes to steal and exploit people.

-half of the things he’s gifted you, you guys got while lying, manipulating and stealing. You are both very good at being charming and persuasive.

-you guys flirt a lot. Like all the time, it’s half of the shit that comes out of your mouth and practically all that comes out of his.

-you are always together. He is glued to your side.

-if you are away from each other you only have him on your mind and he is annoying the crap out of whoever he is with because he won’t stop talking about you.

- he thinks you are the most amazing person in the world.

-most definitely writes songs about you. As confident as he is, he does sometimes get insecure about his music, mainly how real his words are in his songs,and his abilities with you.

-Scanlan is not really a fighter. He doesn’t think he can protect you as well as the rest of the group could.

- it doesn’t take him long to realize that that isn’t that much of an issue. One too many drinks led to another and some asshole made a comment about Scanlan. Let’s just say that bar fight you had left him both incredibly impressed and very turned on.

-PDA, hell yeah, it’s Scanlan. You sometimes have to tell him to stop. Sometimes you will make him flustered in the worst situations. Never when you're in danger, just if you're in front of important people. 

-Scanlan definitely likes to be held. Total small spoon in my book. After all he needs some comfort and you love being that for him.

Percy:

Inseparable couple (but in a sweet way)

-childhood friends. Went through hell together at Whitestone and both somehow got out. 

- definitely spent childhood together with parents knowing you would end up together. They were planning your wedding before you were even ten.

-you both met up after your family had already escaped the town. Percy was devastated and spent days crying, you just held him and brought him food and water and tried to get him to sleep.

-you were devastated about his sister and his family when he told you what happened.

-you guys definitely just somehow ended up romantically involved naturally. After Whitestone you both became inseparable and super affectionate and protective of one another.

-let’s make this known, when he’s going to bed you go to bed with him, when he’s awake you're awake, when he’s stressed you are right beside him and vice Versa.

-you are always there for him, especially when it involves his family.

-you like to watch him make his guns. When he gets too worked up or won’t stop tinkering you take off his glasses. Most of the time afterwards you lead him to your bed. On the rare occasion you grabbed them to joke around he will tickle you for them back like you guys did when you were younger.

-he will make weapons for you and will teach you how too as well if you ask.

-if you ask he will show you hands on, standing behind you, arms in yours, guiding you through everything.

-you will name your weapons together.

-you love to play with his hair, and he loves to hug you. You both take comfort in one another.

-you both like to cuddle when you read, even if the other person isn’t reading, which is great for hugging and hair touching.

-he surprisingly is more PDA prone than others expect. Once more you are inseparable. Will kiss your temple and forehead very often, he loves it and you love it. You like to snuggle your head into his neck. He will spontaneously grab your hand and spin you into him bringing your bodies into direct contact and faces only inches apart. He is super smiley when he does this.

-you always make him smile. It melts your heart every time.

-there are some hard times where either of you has nightmares, which leads to lots of holding and consoling.

-Percy can have anger issues at times especially when it comes to revenge.

-this is the only thing you guys fight about. While you both want all of them dead you are worried of the effects this will have on Percy and how far he is willing to go and how much he is willing to give. You definitely fear that his judgement is compromised at times like these and think that he himself or others might get hurt along the way.

-he tries to stop when he finds you crying in the corner of your room worried sick about him.

-his anger gets the better of him, but when he is reminded of you he cools down like 50%. If he sees you in one of these stages he will be much more careful too.

-after one of these episodes he definitely does not let go of you. He will hold your hand no matter what. He may even hold your one hand with both of his if you guys are walking or something.

Keyleth:

Opposites attract couple

-You met in a tavern

-In fact, it was your good friend Vax that introduced you to the group of mercenaries.

-You had already known Vex since she was Vax’s sister, but the rest of the crew were strangers.

-You quickly took a liking to them. Passing your free time drinking and betting in card games was one of your favorite ways to relax. 

-That first night you out drank them all and remained the only one not drunk. It was the fiery red-head that fell to the effects of the alcohol first. She was also the one you took care of the most that night.

-You helped her to bed, tucked her in, and even found yourself tucking a piece of her hair behind her cute pointy ear. You weren’t drunk, just definitely buzzed.

-She quickly realized she liked you, which is why the two of you became a couple so fast. That and Vax trusted you so she knew you were a good person.

-You were a bit slower when it came to coming to terms with your feelings. You always helped her out, complimented her, and protected her. 

-When she told you about her feelings you just kissed her. It was a small rushed peck, but it explained all she needed to know. You quickly and awkwardly excused yourself.

-Over time you become more comfortable in a relationship. You like to be affectionate with her when you're alone but you find it difficult in public. Around your friends you guys will hold hands, lean into one another, and have your guys arms wrapped around either shoulders or waists.

-She likes to give you little charms and pretty rocks and gems she finds.

-You like to gift her with stolen objects you took from merchants that were rude. So far the most expensive thing you’ve stolen and gifted her was a silver necklace with a very pretty moonstone charm. It’s her favorite and she never takes it off.

- She likes to fidget with your hands when she gets anxious, especially about her family. She finds it interesting how you can so easily steal, so she likes to observe the little things. For example, she enjoys tracing the scars on your hands you have gained from your time thieving and fighting. 

-You really like her hair, so she can sometimes catch you just staring at her. Sometimes when you guys are in public you even just mess with it in your fingers because you love how silky and bright it is.

-The entire crew is really happy for you guys, they like how much confidence you give Keyleth, and they like how soft you get around her.

-Vax and Vex can tell that you both make eachother better and stronger people and that you both are growing more into yourselves.

Grog:

Party couple/ adorably affectionate couple but not in an uncomfortable way

-You were quick friends that shared the same easy going attitude. You liked ale and parties and brawls. Grog liked those too.

-You both simply bask in each other’s happiness. You both feel warm and comfortable in the other's presence. 

-Ale, yes please, you will both compete to see who can drink more, your drunken selves becoming instantly more charismatic making you both the life of the party.

-Only nice things to say about each other. You both never fight. Unless you are play fighting, for example food fights, sneak tackles, and other various activities.

-Piggy back rides, most definitely. Especially during drinking games and other competitions. You on Grog’s back and Scanlan on Vax’s, the four of you barreling down the street in a race to see who would be the last one standing.

-Grog would definitely like it if you made him jewelry, like necklaces or bracelets from treasure you had found or pretty stones in the forest. 

-Grog would do the same for you as well, making very nice bracelets that now cover your wrists.

-You constantly fall asleep on him when you are adventuring. You sometimes snore, but he finds it cute.

-He likes to pick you up and give you massive hugs.

-You are both huge fans of hand holding.

-If someone attacks one of you, the other will beat the shit out of that person or creature.

-Pike loves you two together and is one of your biggest supporters. It makes you and Grog both very happy that she likes you together as a couple so much.

- You both constantly get into shenanigans together and crack the best jokes. There is a ton of laughter involved in your relationship.

[blorbologist]

❤ give me ur hottest fanon personality takes

yessir

❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

Good fucking GOD does fanon do Keyleth so dirty!

She isn't my favorite member of VM, and my least favorite of Marisha's PCs, but it's not for any fault of her own. This is a very inexperienced character whose arc is about gaining that confidence and growing into it! Her heart is incredible and imo she is probably second to Percy as a creative-ideas-person which is really underrated (when Travis is not stepping in Grog's place; Vex has very practical ideas usually which are their own thing). She's enthusiastic and silly and a huge awkward mess, and often giggling in the background or repeating what's happened out of delight. But she's also got a stubborn streak to her, and develops a lot of anger she can't quite handle, and sometimes her naïve impulsiveness can cause more harm than the good she intends. And just how all that inexperience and heart-first living makes her early romance with Vax a fucking mess! And then it's a sweet little fluff-fest, with some pretty soft demi and bi rep too, until it becomes deliciously tragic and brings out the best and worst in them both and literally becomes a key plot point. Seeing how she's matured in C3 - and how some of that same girl still lives in her - awkwardness and all - is such a treat! Now she's the noble ruler we all hoped she'd be... with a long future still ahead of her and all the joys and hurts that implies.

See all I crossed out? That doesn't exist in fanon Keyleth. At all. Bye! Congratulations, you get a girl-next-door redhead walking Taylor Swift song with just as much depth. Cursory bit of spice or sad included, because She's Just Like Me You Guys! Totally unrelated that she's (one of) the canon love interest of this broody, hot, emotional guy (or his sister, if you want Vex to step on you and decide she wouldn't go batty with Keyleth).

As soon as fanon gets its hands on Keyleth, she becomes a reader stand-in with flaws filed off. Guys Marisha confirmed she was this close to multiclassing Barbarian for a reason. Perfectly sweet boring people do not multiclass into Barbarian!

Ask me about my unpopular opinions!

[burr-ell]

I'm afraid to ask, but here goes... who is that Matt Colville guy?

Regarding your tags about Colville and how he had written Vex. Why do you think his Vex sucks? I've seen some fans who think he did her justice and those who despise his portrayal of Vex, so I'm always curious to hear people's thoughts about his writing of Vex, as well as his handling of other VM members. Also, less important, but what did he do that didn't help you like Scanlan any better? Is it just the way he had written him in the comics or something else?

Matt Colville wrote Vox Machina Origins Series I, the first 6-issue arc of the prequel comic, and I...really don't like that take on Vox Machina, and I think his comic writing in and of itself leaves a lot to be desired. Now I've talked about him before, but that was in my dumbass era, so lemme take a crack at it now that I'm not filtering all my opinions through one subset of fandom.

(To be clear, I don't think he's like. a terrible person or "problematic" or what have you; I don't know the guy. This is purely a criticism of his writing, and I'm going to try to be as objective as possible in explaining my entirely subjective opinion.)

If my understanding is correct (and in fairness, my source for things Colville has said is gonna be "dude trust me" because I started writing this at almost 11pm and I don't feel like hunting around), Colville openly admitted to not having watched a fair bit of the show, including the Feywild arc. He considered those things to be "mining for backstory", and largely watched Critical Role for the combat. And that makes a certain amount of sense because DnD combat mechanics are his thing, but it also means that he wasn't necessarily a great choice to write here. He could have been! But over the course of this first volume he proves that he wasn't, and you'll notice that he's not writing for them anymore.

So to address the first topic: I really don't like his take on Vex, but it's not because she's written as mean—it's because of how she's written as mean and why she's written that way. Now, we know from canon that Vex doesn't start out as an especially nice person to people she doesn't know, and Laura has openly said regarding TLOVM that she wanted to show that Vex can be bitchy sometimes. And I like that about her; I think it's a good character trait. But there's a very specific way in which Vex is bitchy, and Colville's writing does not suggest that he understands it.

...Yeah, that's gonna be a no from me, chief.

Obviously we don't know what Vex was like pre-stream because otherwise these comics wouldn't exist, but we can reasonably extrapolate based on her behavior in the show, as well as the way she was written in TLOVM where Laura was an executive producer, that this is not the way Vex's frostiness would have manifested itself. She wouldn't disdain or dismiss lower-class people as "peasants", and she wouldn't reject the idea of asking them for information on that basis—Vex is usually the first person to start talking to locals about whatever it is she's investigating; she's one of the faces of the team whenever they have to talk to people.

What Colville has written instead is a character clinging to aristocratic status explicitly in order to establish herself in a hierarchy, suggesting that she sees herself as above peasants. But canonically, Vex never considers herself noble-born; no one else ever suggests that she did; and there aren't any indications that she takes pride in Syldor's position and what that might have granted her. Just on the face of it, it seems like Colville heard that Percy gave Vex a title and then she fell in love with him and worked backwards to deduce that Vex always wanted nobility, rather than engaging with her character as it exists.

Another indication that Colville really wasn't paying very close attention is the presence of Trinket—specifically, the lack thereof. The reason Trinket doesn't appear in the first three issues is that Colville didn't think Vex would have had him yet, because Beastmaster Rangers don't get their animal companions until Level 3. Except Vex had Trinket before the campaign even started; not only did Laura write a short story about it that was available on Geek and Sundry, but it's also a major moment in episode 65 because even Vax doesn't know the full details and finally asks her about it, and Vex makes it clear that it happened before they were anywhere near meeting Vox Machina. Colville brought Trinket in starting at issue 4 and wrote around the problem by having Vex explain that Vax made her leave him outside of town, but the fact that this was an issue at all doesn't speak well of the organization of this process. Like...he couldn't have just asked? Did nobody give him a lore document?

Additionally, in the above panels Vex says something about "the school". This is, by Colville's own admission, something he came up with, and it's elaborated on a bit later:

Y'all. I'm sorry, but this is the absolute dumbest possible addition to the twins' backstory.

Now, at exactly what age the twins ran away from Syngorn wasn't entirely set in stone by this point. But for one thing, again, that's probably something he should have asked about if it wasn't provided in any kind of lore document, and for another, while we didn't have exact numbers, the general idea was already that the twins were no older than their mid-teens when they finally left, probably closer to 13-14. So of course if they went to assassin school and graduated (lmao can you imagine), they probably started attending when they were a couple years younger.

Which raises the question of why Syldor Vessar, a diplomat with no martial interests whatsoever, fully aware that he has a rocky relationship with his preteen problem children, sent them to a secret murder school.

I get wanting to explain why Vex and Vax are so good at bows and daggers and why Vex knows five languages, but there have to have been ways to address that besides whatever this is. It's very telling to me that both Kith & Kin and TLOVM seem to be just quietly ignoring this, and it's never been brought up again as a legitimate part of the twins' backstory, even within the later comics.

Secondly (yeah, that was all under "firstly"), I really don't like Colville's take on Scanlan.

SHUT UP.

I'm going to get more into this a bit later, but Colville's Scanlan will. not. stop. talking. He is incredibly smarmy and obnoxious, but not in the fun lovable way that Sam Riegel actually played him; this Scanlan has the single most punchable face in Exandria. Canon Scanlan did not ever talk this much or in this way.

Like, look at all that "story" language—theatrical critiques and scenes and narratives and treating all of life like it's a story. When has Scanlan ever talked like that? He didn't in Kraghammer and he didn't while fighting Vecna. That's not the kind of bard Scanlan is or ever has been.

This Scanlan is very cool. He's collected. He's confident. He's smug. He never takes a hit in a way that matters. He even gets to lecture Vex about her insecurities. There's never a hint at any of his flaws, like that he's actually very unobservant and self-absorbed. His perception and insight modifiers were +1 in part because even by the end of the campaign, his wisdom score was a 7. Scanlan's never been very good at reading people; what he's good at is persuading or deceiving them. We don't see any of that charisma here; what we see is a loudmouthed fratboy who runs his mouth nonstop.

Speaking of running one's mouth nonstop, my final major issue with Colville's writing is his exposition scenes.

I mean, look at this:

Look, some of this is down to personal taste, but I also just don't think this is good comic writing. Comics are a visual medium; the script is meant to work with the art to tell us a full story. This is just massive walls of text in giant word balloons that take up far too much space for what they're doing, and the panels are flat and boring—it's just a bunch of talking heads jabbering at each other. We're clearly meant to focus on the words being said, but nothing about the art gives us anything else to work with. In fact, it's as if the art itself is saying that this scene is just the same thing over and over again with small modifications here and there. We're watching a conversation between people who all sound more or less alike rather than being genuinely immersed in visual storytelling.

Compare the above to these pages from VM Origins II #5 and VM Origins III #5:

Now, some of this is down to lettering—the letterer and colorist were both changed between Series I and Series II—but it's also down to a change in script and art direction. These scenes lay down some necessary exposition, but they’re much more interesting to look at. These aren't just full pages of talking heads; there are different angles and shots, breaking up the sequence as the conversation goes on to help it flow much more naturally and maintain the reader's attention. You can tell that Houser is giving these characters room to breathe and trying to write in their voices, not just making them exposition-dump at each other.

Colville was, and as far as I know still is, a friend of the cast of Critical Role; he just isn't working on the Vox Machina Origins comics and the writing has since changed hands to Jody Houser. I think this was a much better choice; she's a seasoned professional comic book writer and a long-time viewer of the show. Her Vex is a significant step up, taking the clear lead of the group and keeping them together while still maintaining a frosty and snarky personality. Her writing for Scanlan is also a lot closer to canon, allowing him to shine in endearingly goofy comedic scenes rather than giving the entire script to a smug fourth-wall-breaking theatre kid.

Like I said, I don't think Matt Colville is or was a bad person with bad intentions. I just don't think he was a good choice to be writing these comics because I don't think he understood who these characters were or what Critical Role was trying to do with them.

[agereoneshots]

The next morning, as the group stumbled into the kitchen, Keyleth happily called to the others.

"I have gifts for everyone! Wait here!" The others looked around wondering what she could have for them.

"She definitely made them herself." Vax concluded, the others nodded.

"My guess, flower bouquets." Scanlan suggested.

"No, she'd make something that would last a while." Percy commented. Keyleth came back setting each gift down in front of the recipient.

"I made stuffed animals for everyone! A bear for Vex, a black cat for Vax, a crow for Percy, a dog for Scanlan, a hummingbird for Pike, and a lion for Grog!" As the others thank Keyleth for their gifts, Percy fought the urge to grab his and squish it against his chest.

"Do you not like yours?" Percy looked up at Keyleth.

"No! I love it!" Percy stumbled over his words as his still foggy brain told him he was too young to know how to speak.

"You haven't even touched it. Is something wrong?" Pike, ever the mom friend, asked gently. Percy couldn't help the tears pricking his eyes. Sighing, he took the bird and hugged it close.

"I'm fine....just...." Percy took a deep breath and, despite his brain practically screaming at him at this being a horrible idea, he decided to be truthful about what was bothering him knowing there was no other way out. "Sometimes....my...my brain makes me feel....younger....than I actually am....I know it's weird and I'm probably the only one who does this." Percy was aware he was rambling.

"No you aren't." Grog stopped him. "I do too." Percy looked over and blinked at him.

"Sometimes the big guy is a little guy." Pike shrugged. Percy hugged his crow closer, brain fogging over even more.

"I...I do something pretty similar. Sometimes my brain makes me feel more...more like a dog than a child? If that makes sense?" Scanlan looked around the table, waiting for someone to tell him no.

"of course it does!" Keyleth glared daggers across the table, getting her message across.

"Since....since everyone else is sharing...." Vax started.

"We do something similar to both actually." Vex finished.

"While we don't....really have it where we feel younger or like an animal, pretending is stress relieving." Vax explained.

"Pretending is just the best word we got. We do get into a mindset that tells us we're younger or that we're a dog or a cat, we can just....turn it off or on? At will?" Vex clarified. Suddenly, Keyleth got an idea.

Percy slept curled up in one of the sitting room lounge chairs with a blanket over him, crow stuffie in his arms, as he slept. Keyleth sat in a nearby chair. Scanlan laid his head in her lap, chewing gently on his new dog stuffie's leg as Keyleth scratched his head, calling him a good boy. Grog and Vex sat on the floor, playing with each other quietly so they wouldn't wake the baby. Pike and Vax sat near them, watching their respective little.

[a-menagerie]

Sorry to bother, but can I ask for a Scenario where the boys from Vox Machine are at a fancy royal ball, They're on a mission and need to go undercover! and fem reader was chosen as a distraction so others could do the investigation, reader shows up late to the party on purpose and wearing Sarah's iconic puffy Dress (from the movie Labyrinth with David Bowie!)

I’ve never seen Labyrinth (🫢) but I googled the dress and wow, is that a dress haha. I kind of love it tho

Grog

He is…doing his best. Grog is not the best at undercover OR investigation missions and honestly gets bored pretty quickly

Then you walk in, in your huge poofy pretty dress, looking stunning, and his brain just shuts off

He’ll help being a distraction. The rest of Vox Machina may bemoan his leaving the mission but honestly, he’ll do better with you at his side

Grog is absolutely making heart-eyes at you for the rest of the night tho

Percy

He tried So Hard to not get distracted by your arrival and appearance

Percy knows best how to wheel and deal with nobility and so he’s got to at least pretend that he’s interested in what they’re talking about. That’s hard though when he keeps watching you make your way through the room

He stays pretty professional though and doesn’t really speak to you until the mission is over and you’ve all reconvened elsewhere. Then he’ll make sure you know how well you did, how great you looked, and how he wished he’d been by your side

Percy will probably sneak the two of you away somewhere quiet to enjoy a slow dance or two together before the evening is over

Scanlan

Is actually part of the distraction with you. He’s dressed to the nines and walks in with you, though he wishes he could tuck your hand into the crook of his arm

Scanlan does what he does best: awesome lyrical creations with magical flair. Most of the songs are about you. You two get everyone’s attention very easily.

He’s also very skilled with his tongue ;) and manages to get info from the people y’all end up talking to at the ball. The two of you as a pair is just very charming

The minute he sees you uncomfortable, whether talking to someone or just tired of being so dressed up, he’ll swoop in to try and help out. Convince that creepy guy to fuck off, lead you to a quiet corner to calm down, etc etc. Scanlan only has eyes for you this evening

Vax

He is looking…respectfully?

Like he’s the most well suited for this mission. Undercover intelligence gathering, right up his alley. But the minute you walk in…

You weren’t supposed to be a distraction for him!

Vax is just gaping at you from across the room and it takes a smack from Vex to pull him back to the job

Hurries through the investigation so he can dance with you before y’all have to leave

[rightpastnowhere]

fluffy HCs as requested bud <33

Vesper is absolutely spoiled by VM - they get better with it as time goes on [the Trickfoots have their own kids, and the rest have their responsibilities really settle in, and Vex and Percy learn that maybe spoiling a kid rotten isn't the best way to go] but this kid gets everything. Partially because she's the first baby and SO cute... partially because Vax just died and Vex is A Mess so they're all rallying to defeat this for her, for themselves, and it's very healing to make a lil baby smile and laugh.

Scanlan actually isn't the best at lullabies - the kids turn to Pike's huskier and softer voice at bedtime. Which Scanlan is Very Dramatic About, but he has the best songs for games and chores and good times and such. But Pike lulls them right to sleep, and also offers up sea shanties when they're working on chores as a family that require a rhythm.

Sorry, but you know Willhand'ildan absolutely fucking hates his name. He and Vax'ildan (Dan) bond over not really... knowing how to deal with being named after dead people, especially the same guy their parents feel guilty about not being able to save. So Dan and Wills actually end up being very close friends, and I HC they're fairly close friends too. I HC Dan as becoming a Druid in Zephrah, and if so he and Wills either send letters regularly or Wills works as a Tempest Blade there too (shhh hes FINE hes FINE he comes out COMPLETELY UNSCATHED SHHH).

Juniper's feelings are less complicated, because Scanlan had a lot more time to come to terms with his mother's death, and her name is a lot more common / namesake less well known so people don't immediately bug her about it. She feels really touched she has this connection to this woman only her dad knew.

Not v relevant but imagine an AU where Tary and Lawrence adopt a lil Fjord. (They both settle down in Port Damali, which is where Lawrence was living, and where Fjord grew up!) Consider Fjord with gay dads who absolutely trounce on standard ideas of masculinity from the word go, and also are prolific authors. Jester would get absolutely fucking starry-eyed when he tells her lmao

OH MY GOD VM BABIES ;;;;;

vesper being spoiled by a vm who feel guilty about vax and paranoid about this small fragile lil babbu and also who want to see her have more than they ever did... they overcorrect but it's so earnest and i love them oh my god

PIKE SINGING LULLABIES!! HELP!!!! OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS

poor wilhand'ildan was fucked over for LIFE (sam and ashley are giggling as they ruin this fictional child's life it's hilarious) and i do think that would be SUCH a heavy burden, but the thought of vax'ildeux and wills being buddies........ that warms my heart sm. AND LIVING IN ZEPHRAH WITH AUNTIE KEEKS......... BLESSED

juniper <33 she has no idea how much drama her named caused LMAO

OH MY GOD THAT'S SUCH A CUTE IDEA THO ?!?! AWWWWWWWWW

thank you so much for these,,,,,,, heart full of warm happiness <33 thank you

[isagrimorie]

MATT: She and Pike both landed on the ground. → Which, at this point now, while you guys are in this moment of joy, you begin to take awareness back in of the room around you. →

Pike is standing back about five to 10 feet from you. →

Lady Vex'ahlia is at the door with this dark green bow covered in these arced, twisted bits and wood and vine, arrow nocked in it, aimed right at Laudna. →

Pike, hand out in front, clutching holy symbol. →

#MARISHA :Who are you? →

# VEX "I think the more appropriate question is, who are you? Pike. → Would you have a look? I mean this with all due respect, do not move. → The moment you do anything strange or untoward, this goes between your eyes."

She pulls the arrow back taut, and as she does, you can see these small, thin brambles spiral out of the arrow's wood and prepare itself with this extremely pointed, jagged element that's just aiming straight for you.

→#IMOGEN: I'm just prepping Telekinetic Shove, just in case. →

--

#LAURA Is that all right? →

#MATT Pike and Vex nod. →

VEX: "All right, boys. → Stand down." In the two corners of the room, you see two figures step out of invisibility. →

#SAM Ooh. →

#MATT You see two armored, masked members of the Rifleman Corps. →

#TRAVIS Dope. →

#IMOGEN Well. Shit. →

#MATT Weapons at the ready, lower them. →

--

#FCG Everyone at the castle was really nice. → Well, except for one guy. →

#ASHTON Let's not jump to-- →

#VEX "Right, and to that point."

MATT: Vex, who's in front of the door, steps to the side and opens it, and right as she opens the door, you hear... → (guns rattling) →

#SAM Oh god. →

#TALIESIN/ASHTON Oh, this asshole. →

#MATT Looking just beyond it, you see four, five dozen Riflemen, and then them flanked by probably 50 or more Pale Guard. →#TRAVIS Damn! →

#MATT All completely surrounding the front of this house. →#LAURA/IMOGEN Uh-oh. →

#LAUDNA (scared gasp) →

#MATT Beyond that, you see across the way, elevated on a platform, a bit of a shine hits your eyes, and you see a glimmer of some sort of glass, before you make out to be the light hitting some sort of a sight as a large, intricate, metallic rifle sits trained at the door, and a white-haired figure behind it shouts into the air:

PERCY: "Vex'ahlia! Pike! Do I have your assurance or your authority?"

MATT: Vex steps out and into the view of everyone present, arms up. →

VEX: "You have my assurance, darling."

The man back there with the rifle. → "(sighs) Very well. → Pale Guard, Rifle Corps, stand down."

You watch as he pulls it up, and this is a long, strange-barreled rifle, before slinging it over his shoulder and stepping up from behind a barricade. →

All the other riflemen put their weapons to the side and still train intensely on all of you as Vex'ahlia steps out into the light. → Pike steps out as well. →

Sorry, not sorry but I loved this part. It's so sexy of Vox Machina, particularly of Vex and Percy.

Judging from Laura's extremely pleased look, she also approves and loves Percy even more for this level of (deserved) paranoia.

(Travis is even more impressed at how badass they are.)

transcript source

[musicals-and-mushrooms]

Vox Machina playing Stardew Valley

Im gonna have to find more ways i can crossover these two awesome things, but for today take Vox Machina! As always my asks are open, if you have any cozy headcanon ideas for cr or stardew valley/other video games, let me know! And without further ado, lets get into how the protectors of the realm play a pixelated video game!

Vex - Guys this is Vex we are talking about. She is all about making the most money she possibly can. Shes got wiki pages up with all the best times to buy seeds and fertilizer and even that doesnt last long,because she makes tons of seed makers so she doesnt have to give pierre any of her money. She has starfruit wine sheds constantly running and is always looking for more ways to make money.

Percy - I dont really think Percy would play stardew, but vex introduced him when she wanted him to help her download a mod to turn the pet dog into a bear. He then saw some of the potential this game has, and while he rarely plays it he will happily make mods for the rest of the party.

Keyleth - Not only does she LOVE stardew, Keyleth also spends money on merch so she can have as many junimo plushies and cozy tshirts as she can get. She has a room dedicated to stardew, where she grows all the plants she is currently growing in game to feel more immersed in the experience. Her farm is honestly super pretty and percy helped her download some texture packs to make it more fantasy like and the result looks like something out of a dream.

Vax - Vax heard about stardew through vex and kiki and while he didnt think he would be interested, he really loved how chill the game was. As a rule of thumb, he only uses daggers in the mines and skull cavern. Hes also best friends with sebastian, obviously. Emos stick together i guess.

Grog - Grog doesnt play by himself, but he and pike have a "Best Buddies" farm where they just mess around and blow stuff up. Surprisingly, hes really good at the fishing minigame.

Pike - As well as her farm with grog, pike also has a farm where she focuses on cooking all the different meals. Its just really chill!

Taryon - Hes an elliott fanboy. That or he vehemently hates elliott. Theres really no in between.

Scanlan - He does a DF speedrun of marrying and divorcing everyone. Asks percy to help him get mods to marry everyone. Whether percy accepts is up to personal interpretation. Also he is invested in the marnie lewis relationship. Wears the mayors pants everywhere.

Well, thats all for this post! Ill probably do the mighty nein as undertale/deltarune songs later today, and then hopefully find some more ideas! Have a great day everyone!

[wildmelon]

i wrote this like two months ago when i finished, but im posting it now for my own record lol.

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 1

scrambled critical role thoughts and opinions after finishing c1:

oh boy i cried through vax's goodbye scene in the last episode, but holy shit i fucking sobbed through his appearance in dalen's closet. how the fuck was liam so perfect at playing an altered version of vax that was still him at heart. every interaction was perfect. cannot describe how i felt when he addressed scanlan, how the fuck could he come up with such a perfect ingenious opener, i was in tears immediately.

i would not have believed you if you told me when i started that scanlan and grog would have been my favorites at the end of the campaign. (well maybe a little bc i am a confirmed travis stan but seriously i didn't anticipate the level of depth, comedy, and heart he brought to grog). grog's kevdak speech is a campaign highlight for me-- no, a 2023 highlight.

i obviously found scanlan somewhat annoying but funny if often outdated. i kind of just wrote it off as something i'd ignore but sam really made a comeback like damn, i was very happy and surprised when he apologized to pike.

scanlan leaving discourse is old news but for me personally it reminded me of myself in really dark times and the ways poor mental health can make you kinda self-centered. not mad about how any of it went down or how it was resolved, and i love how his and vex's relationship became a highlight for me after his return.

i honestly loved the super high emotional stakes of VM, felt like someone was always mad at someone else, i'm a sucker for inter-party conflict and intense emotional scenes. these guys have so much angst and i love it.

i really enjoyed the tight pacing and goal-oriented episodes. i tend to get stressed out when there's too many broad choices about what to do next in any sort of media lol. this campaign also rly showed me how much i love watching high-level play.

i don't fuck with percy??????? lmfao i don't hate him or anything, i literally can't put it any way besides idfw that man. 😭 he's an interesting character ofc and i do like his friendship with keyleth

keyleth was my fave for most of the campaign. her growth was so rewarding to watch, she made me laugh so many times, i love seeing her become a leader, just adore her and she's such a comfort character to me. bought myself a simple ring with "I have passed through fire" engraved on the inside to celebrate my didn't-kill-myself-aversary this year bc that letter was exactly what i needed to hear 😭

kiki and vax never interested me thatttt much UNTIL they became eternally star-crossed lovers jfc. that is my catnip. tbh it's interesting to me that VM is held up by some as having superior romance to TMN, but i didn't find any of VM's romance super compelling.

since it's been a couple months since i finished, i can add that vex is who i've thought most about since i finished?? i always liked her, loved the grey hunt, adored her relationship with vax, but didn't know i had strong feelings until after i'd finished watching. funny how that happens.

the mighty nein start out fucked up and end up pretty good, while vox machina start out pretty cool and then get super fucked up 😭 much as i love outcasts finding family, it was really fun to watch all these archetypal fantasy Cool Guys just go through so much emotional damage lmao.

[renthony]

would you drop a tier list of your most & least favorite tlovm characters and why? :) I love seeing new people get into it!

Oooooh, I don't have a tier template on hand, and trying to rank them in order sounds hard anyway, because I don't think there are any characters I don't like. So here are my thoughts about all the main party members, plus my favorite side characters!

Percy - My one true blorbo from this series. Baby boy gun man. Someone please hug him and let him take a nap. I have imprinted on him like a duckling. I technically finished my cosplay but I'm already working on plans for future upgrades. My husband also wants to figure out how to rig up an Orthax puppet/costume so he can loom over my shoulder in photos or at cons. Percy is my baby.

Vex - My WIFE. She's got the only brain cell in the party half the time, she's got a war bear, she's even bisexual (is that canon? idk if it's canon, but it's canon to ME!!! no one in this party is straight!!!!!!!) I don't know that I'd be quite as into Perc'ahlia just yet if I didn't know some of their endgame, but I fucking adore everything I've seen from their dynamic so far in season 2. They're adorable.

Vax - I didn't dislike Vax at first, but I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about him. He grew on me really fast, though! I fucking adore every interaction he has with Gilmore, his snark delights me, and I really love what's going on with him and the Raven Queen. I like death-associated characters and I like angst, and whatever's happening with him right now is ticking both those boxes.

Grog - He did exactly what Magnus Burnsides from the Adventure Zone did for me--I started off feeling kinda indifferent toward them both, because "generic smash-smash fighter dude" is usually boring to me, but there's just so much heart. He's funny, he's sweet, he's just so damn genuine. I'm worried about my guy Grog, man. Did he learn nothing from Percy's evil gun last season? GROG, PLEASE!

Pike - I love Pike. Her story with the Everlight in season one really hit me hard, and I think it's so cool to have a devout holy character who curses, drinks, fucks, and doesn't adhere to the "religious people are all stuffy, uptight bigots" stereotype. And her friendship with Grog gives me life, holy shit. I love them.

Keyleth - I ADORE Keyleth. Actual literal Disney princess. I've heard vague mutterings that she's got divisive appeal in the fandom, but I think she's really fun, and I like that she's still learning and figuring her shit out. I like that she's cute and sweet, and I think she really helps balance out the darker moments of the show. I also really appreciate that she gets to be cute and sweet and silly, but is still clearly an adult. She gets drunk, she swears, she isn't a naive infant. Too many kindhearted characters get treated as stupid or childish for it and it annoys me a lot.

Scanlan - I thought I was going to hate Scanlan. I am so tired of horny bards played by people who don't respect consent and think that comedy gives them a free pass to be a fucking asshole who pushes everyone's buttons. But Scanlan isn't that. Yeah, he's horny, and he's over-the-top, and sometimes he's abrasive--but he respects consent, he's not some dickhead macho guy trying to prove he's the most masculine in the room, and he's got a lot of depth to him beneath the snark. Season 2 Scanlan is genuinely breaking my fucking heart, because I want him to be happy so bad.

Gilmore - I fucking love him and want to see way more of him. I don't know if I want to fuck him or be him. He is the distilled essence of what I find aesthetically attractive in a man, and he's a flirtatious snarker, and he can do magic?! The only reason he's not my #1 fave is because that's how much I love Percy.

Sylas & Delilah - My bisexual ass wants to be in that evil sandwich. Goddamn. Also Delilah is totally valid, I would also do horrible crimes against nature to bring my husband back from the dead. She did nothing wrong. Yes I love Percy, yes Delilah did nothing wrong, I contain multitudes. She broke the world for him!!! SHE BROKE THE WORLD!!!! Evil twisted love, baby!!!!!!!

Allura - I was kinda meh on her at first but she's really growing on me in the new season. She's an exhausted put-upon sapphic with the only brain cell on the continent, bless her. I was glad to see she got out of the city.

So yeah! :D

[innocent-cat]

Sort of, but not really, a crossover between The Legend of Vox Machina and The Owl House

Headcanons for how you think Vox Machina would react to having a member who is a witch (that suffering from a curse like Eda’s) from the Boiling Isles? Rather it’s about learning more about their magic or helping them manage their curse?

I love this idea, and i'm also trying to get through all the requests in one day so watch me do a magic trick guys

Vox Machina x TOH Magic Reader

Warnings - none

"The fuck do you mean you have a bird curse?", Vox Machina x Reader

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

Head canons!!!!

OBVIOUSLY when they first learn about it they're all like

"Is there a cure??"

"Does it hurt you:(?"

(Only Pike Vex and Keyleth ask if it hurts you..)

(It's okay cus the boys are immediately asking about how to make the potion)

Once they realize that since you've settled for the potions, it's usually top priority to restock your potions when they go shopping.

"You sure you have enough?? We might not get another chance to shop!"

They're too caring for their own good sometimes

When your curse DOES erupt, Keyleth keeps you down with vines while they bottle feed you the yellow liquid.

Sometimes they'll purposefully not give it to you when you guys are going on some dangerous adventure so your curse snaps during battle.

real clutch when you guys are all about to die

Grrr woof woof

OTHER than that, you're a wild witch, so you have all kinds of magic.

Percy is he only one who's even heard of the boiling isles, unsurprisingly.

"Is it really a titan you all live on?"

"Yes. It is."

So so so many questions about it all.

You have a small amount of sludge with you for abominations, so you've been letting them simmer so they get bigger.

A lot of times they think you're weird for it, but you have to explain it for a few times till they have a "ohhh" kind of reaction

Scanlan defo bonds with you over your bard magic.

":O???? YOU TOO???"

You just kind of look at him confused until you laugh at his hand magic.

expect duets during battles so he can pitch in more.

Keyleth likes how connected you are with animals, she feels like it gives you two more to connect about

"Have you heard about what happened to Benard?"

"Which one? The wolf or the rabbit?"

"The rabbit. He cheated on Lani."

"Gasp”

They also have you fix stuff a lot around the house just because you can control mud n stuff.

you 100% throw mud at them when they say stupid shit

"Yeah so this girl I f- god damn it- why?!"

Scanlan hates it, everyone loves it

win-win

You also lend a huge hand when it comes to healing.

literally pike 2.0 with your shields n stuff

you trick them with your illusion magic.

"Wait- i thought you were going to the woods?"

You look at Vax, staring at him for 5 seconds.

"Hello??"

*poof.*

"Not again!"

They learned about your psychic ability recently when Vex asked about your necklace.

"What's that, birdy?"

You touch your necklace, rubbing the glass orb on the centerpiece.

"What are you doing?" (You said it in sync with Vex.)

"Its a Oracle orb." You smiled and went on a little rant about it.

they all call you birdy because of your feathery curse.

They defo make you predict battles and ask what theyre supposed to do about losses.

"Why would I know? Change it yourself, duhhh"

Keyleth loves your plant magic because when she speaks with your vines, flowers, grass, or trees they all sound and act like you.

"They're like your little babies! haha.."

lots of smiles and laughs from her.

You teach them how to make certain potions because you think it'll help them.

For example, you gave Vex a potion that'll make her more charismatic and she cleared a tab for all of you guys for free.

Could have been her natural charisma, but who knows.

i forgor about grog oops

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Sunken Tomb (2x03)

Liam O'Brien, how dare you...

Cons:

This isn't really a con, so much as a point of confusion... where did Kash and Zahra go at the end of the episode? They seemed to find Purvan's tomb and wander down it, but then Percy also found the tomb? So they're in the wrong place? It just felt strange that they ended up somewhere else with no resolution or cliffhanger for those characters. I guess we'll find out in episode four?

Pros:

Such a good blend of tone in this episode. So many funny moments, and then mixed with such abject tragedy... the basic structure of the plot is just that the gang goes on a journey to find the Deathwalker's Ward, which is the first Vestige of Divergence they've been told about. Along the way they banter, they fight weird fish people monsters, they have a not-so-friendly rivalry going with Zahra and Kash...

There are lot of moments I could shout out here, but a few of my favorite comedy beats include when Kash tells them about Purvan, they all start laughing and making stupid jokes, and then Kash just says "wow, you guys suck." In that same scene, I loved Grog celebrating his new beard, and when Kash is dismissive of it, Grog gets furious and in his face. Kash... immediately backs down and says it's really cool.

Zahra and Vex... perfection. This vibe between them started up in episode two, but this episode we really got to see it in action. They're totally playing it like they're bitter exes who still find each other sexy and I am living for it. Such good energy, and a natural extrapolation from the vibe they had on the original stream. I  loved when they were fighting over who got to be the hero and save the other one. And Vex's exasperation when she realized Zahra had run off was so funny.

The whole fight sequence was good fun, everyone teaming up and being bad-ass. Kash falling off of Scanlan's hand made me laugh too. The only hint of real worry in these scenes is Grog, whose bloodlust seems to be a little more intense than it should be, as he's using that hungry, hungry talking sword... Pike seems to pick up that something isn't quite right, but she can't figure out what's up just yet. Also, as I said, we finally got our bearded Grog! I've been waiting for that guy to turn up.

A couple other details: Pike has a vision to check in on Emon, and sees Thordak ruling the roost, demanding tribute and burning humans alive when they run out of shiny things to give him. So that's not great. Also, in Trinket news, he actually got to be useful in a fight for once, which was exciting to see!

And then there's the stuff with the twins. I mean. Where to even begin with all of this. It was so good. Pitch perfect. Liam and Laura fucking knocked it out of the park. The episode has flashbacks showing them younger, during an incident in which their father yelled at Vex for breaking a tiara, calling them worthless because of their status as half human. Vax decides they should storm off, and they do, but it's clear Vex didn't really want to leave. She gets mad at him for always trying to protect her and tell her what to do, and then we cut to later, where Vax is sobbing because his sister has left him. Vax says that it's not that Vex needs him, it's that he needs her.

Just. If you know where this is going it's just... just... the perfect distillation of the whole thing with the twins. They were so cute and squishy as little baby half-elves, and their dad sucks so hard.

The episode also cleverly builds up the fact that the Matron of Ravens' temple is full of traps. We see Grog discover one, we see Vax checking ahead to be sure, we see Trinket sniffing out a hidden latch in the floor that raises up a tomb... it's all very treacherous. Obviously I knew this was coming, so every time Vax insisted that everyone wait and be cautious, I was getting more and more tense. It happens so suddenly, so unceremoniously. Percy reaches in to take the Deathwalker's Ward, and it sets off a trap. Vex is caught in it. She falls to the ground. Dead.

Again, just... LIAM. With the full on SOBBING. I cannot deal. It's so raw and real and I'm beyond excited for the consequences of this one moment to follow us through to the very end of the show. It's gonna hurt so good.

So yeah. This episode was fantastic. I'm eagerly awaiting more, and can't believe I have to wait a full week to see it resolved. Even knowing how it all turns out isn't enough to calm me down. This was excellent TV; I continue to be so happy and so blown away by what these folks have managed to pull off with this adaptation. Can't wait for more!

9.5/10

[blorbologist]

Which version (i.e the comics, cartoon, original campaign art, other fanart, etc.) of Percy and Vex do you typically visualize when you write your stories? Is that version of them your favorite?

Hi!! sorry this took so long - I wanted to compile the official art and really think through my answer.

A disclaimer that I usually default to drawing them fairly close to TLOVM's style, because it's simple and very visually distinct and I'm still learning to draw people. I think it's a very well done simplification of the characters that translates well to animation (though I do have my little quibbles with it)

Percy is pretty straightforward and doesn't vary much in my mind's eye; I love Vox Machina Origins and the new official art Percy, however I think both make him look a little too old and sexy for 'mid-early 20s' (I say, in my mid-early 20s tkrggkrtn). I also don't really like any red on him, though the new art is dark enough to still look nice. The stupid nerdy glasses are a must. He needs good boots - either his Spider Climb boots or just... good walking boots. IDK what TLOVM Percy is wearing but he won't get nowhere without being caked in mud. VM Origins Percy's host of belts and holsters is great (THIGH HOLSTER??? HI) and the pale coat lining + pants accent the hair nicely, though I also like new art/TLOVM Percy's dark look with the pale ascot.

My hot take is that I actually adore the TLOVM hair; it makes him look young and concerned with his appearance and really helps keep him from looking too Old. I dislike the green eyes though, had hopped so bad that they'd turn blue once Orthax was evicted or would be blue in flashbacks, but! Nope! Green for no clear reason! That's not a Whitestone color bby boy :C

EDIT: also the Orthax eyes and smoke are So Fucking Good absolutely insane of them to do that. very hot. very good. yes.

(also I'm sorry but I... really, really do not like the og art. It's just not my style. I'm not going to critique it, because I'm not a dick, but I can't imagine Vex falling for a Percy who looks like this guy?)

Vex, though, I have less solid ideas about! I see her as being a lot more adaptable in her manner of dress - what needs repairs, what's too worn and needs to be tossed out, etc. vs Percy trying to cling to a singular Look more. I know she's the ~sexy~ one, but showing too much skin just isn't practical when out adventuring, and I'm happy much of her official art reflects that. She stays pretty well covered with some padding and leathers. And when not adventuring I think she has more fun with her day to day and fancy clothes, whereas Percy usually has that coat (He Coat) or something similar keeping his look somewhat constant.

Some things I am sure about: she's not fucking white good god. I personally darken Vex from her TLOVM colors a bit when I draw her. I understand a lot of white Vex art is from before she and Vax started getting darker official art, but I still cringe looking at it. Percy is the pasty whiteboy, Vex is mixed. Otherwise, hmm... I'm very attached to the blue feathers in her hair and some white fur thrown over one shoulder, as well as a host of belts and a thigh quiver + the braid being thrown over her shoulder. She Must have a flowy bit to her look (cape or that half-dress-thing in the post-timeskip art or whathaveyou) for maximum drama. Vex seems pretty willing to incorporate patterns and interesting fabrics into her look (poofy shoulders, stripes, that sheer thing) which I think is fun. I like her with black or hazel eyes, which I flipflop between liberally and depending on the fic rkgjnkrnkghn

The white dragon armor is a little difficult to design admittedly, but neither canon-ish look for it really Hit for me yknow.

Also I hate the TLOVM style of lips for women. It limits their expressiveness SO MUCH compared to the men which is such a robbery. I want more aghast and livid and screaming Vex. I would get it if she, specifically, had these, because she's The Hot One, but Keyleth??? Pike??? Come on.

Again, this is all personal opinion as an artist with too few spoons to draw often + someone who finds both these characters incredibly hot and bisexual goals in their own way. I'm not gonna pick a fight with anyone over their interpretations (except whitewashing Vex. I'll fucking bite you)

[burr-ell]

17, 22, 25

choose violence ask game

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

I'm gonna get real self-indulgent here and say I want more content of Percy and Vex parenting their other three kids! Don't get me wrong, I love Vesper and Gwendolyn so much, but I see so much content for them with their parents and relatively little for Wolfe, Leona, and Vax'ildeux. I'd especially like to see more of Vex with Gwen and Vesper and Percy with Wolfe, Leona, and Vax.

(Honestly though, I can't really fault it. I personally can attest that Vesper-Gwen aasimar-tiefling parallels are catnip for fanart.)

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

Y'know, I totally get why, but the Kraghammer arc of C1 tends to get slept on a lot and I'd implore people to give it a chance. Don't get me wrong, it's frustrating at times in ways that later CR just isn't, but it's got a lot of really cool moments in there and it lays some interesting groundwork for later lore stuff. The episodes are also way shorter than they are now; at the beginning they actually tried really hard to clock it at three hours, so it's comparatively easy to get through. (I think it's also useful to see that some elements of C2 and C3 are older than people think—and uh, some of Matt's creature designs and monsters have always been a lil bit fucked up.) And as @essayofthoughts has said before, the Briarwoods arc hits harder if you're able to see for yourself that Percy's behavior was genuinely shocking to both the characters and the players.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Pretty much anything about the cast hating each other or hating someone else or someone else hating them. Like you've got "nono look at Travis's face, he HATES Marisha he HATES Keyleth"; you've got "guys i think Laura was REALLY mad at Robbie in REAL LIFE"; you've got "ugh how could the D20 cast want to bring on Matt Mercer don't they know he's RUINING the setting"; you've got "uummm did you SEE everyone else during the watch party with Troy Baker he was obviously making EVERYONE uncomfortable and they all for sure wanted him out of there"...list goes on.

Like, guys, these people actually know each other personally. Some of them are like family to each other. Some of them were in each other's weddings. It's safe to say they don't hate each other and are, in fact, adult professionals who are good at playing a game. Can we like. dial it back.