#i keep drawing fearne :|

[teansouprmyjam]

a sketch of 2 beloved silly guys,,,,,,

[finncakes]

Idk if you’ve answered this before but what’s your opinion on dorym I’m personally pretty neutral about it

It’s cute but not really for me

i'm...probably gonna get some unfollows for this but i'm not personally a fan. i used to be more chill with it, but i see it so much it's started to annoy me (except for a select few artists). it's not....bad it's just. bland to me? and i find people forget fearne and her important relationship to both dorian and orym. a lot of exu trio art ends up feeling like dor/ym art that she was put in as an after-thought.

i have more thoughts that my poor brother (who barely watches cr) gets to hear but uh...idk i'll stop talking since i don't want to hurt feelings or get killed for not liking it. but yeah ... not the biggest fan of it :']

[masterqwertster]

A difference between Ashton absorbing the Spark and Fearne absorbing the Spark that I haven't seen discussed is that Fearne had the ability to ripcord out until the end of the 6th round/start of the 7th round while Ashton only had to the end of the 1st round.

Now by "ripcord out," I mean they could have halted the absorption process by either removing the Quintessence Array or potentially pulling the Spark out of the Array's funnel. Essentially, the Spark's crystal vessel had to still exist and be a separate receptacle, much like how the Quintessence Array cannot fully transfer a creature's magical essence without proper absorption time.

For Ashton, the Spark's crystal crumpled to nothing by the end of the first round via CON Saves (Ashton's early rounds were weird in that Matt rolled multiple damages against him instead of just one, especially the second CON Save round). All they had were those initial moments where it didn't seem impossible, didn't seem like anything they couldn't handle, to back out. 36 Damage and unaware they had to go for 9 more rounds where one pulse of Damage could do up to 60 Damage.

Fearne, on the other hand, besides having a much gentler time of it with zero CON Saves and able to use her own magic to help keep herself up from lower Damage rolls, had until the end of the sixth round or the start of the seventh round before the second Spark crystal finished crumpling into nothing. She had time to assess if it would be too much for her to finish, time to say "No, this was a bad idea. I don't want it."

I'm sure part of that difference is Ashton jumped in on a bad idea and was being forced to deal with the Consequences while Fearne's was a much more measured decision and the "safe" route. You know, game mechanics and penalties.

But consider it narratively.

The way I read it, one of two things happened: Ashton's body is so attuned/ready to be a vessel of great powers that it just slorped the Spark right up, no hesitation. Or, Rau'shan was so eager to move in with his old partner, that he jumped right in (and later backed out because it was too crowded to be tenable). And honestly? Both have interesting implications.

If Ashton is just a higher power absorbing machine, that can mean some interesting things for how he ended up with the Shard of Ka'Mort. Like that the Hishari ritual wasn't meant to bestow the Shard to anyone, but through whatever fuck up happened, Ashton chomped it up. Or that it was about bestowing, but Ashton was such a better vessel that it fucked up the ritual. And the Potion of Possibility giving them a half-beacon brain just happened. There's no explanation as to why it didn't just give him a Mote of Possibility to essentially reroll a Death Save into stabilizing himself rather than die, which makes sense with what the Potion does. Instead it made Ashton a permanent well of dunamis. Maybe that happened because Ashton is titan-blooded. Maybe it's because they are uniquely suited to being a vessel of great powers, that they possess a body hungry to hold more power.

On the other hand, if Rau'shan wanted in to reunite with Ka'Mort with all haste, that makes Ashton his first choice of vessel. Then Rau'shan backed out because three's a crowd and a quality vessel does no one any good if it breaks trying to use that power (because Ashton did manage to contain it all). And maybe he goes a little slower when a second vessel attempts to hold his Spark, just to make sure she's not going to blow up on him.

Or even Fearne just doesn't have the same draw for the Spark as Ashton, so it crumbled at the rate the Quintessence Array drained it at instead of being sucked straight through to it's new home.

I'm just saying, it's a very interesting difference that didn't need to exist to show how much easier absorbing the Spark is for not-Ashton.

[distant--shadow]

I can't just sit and watch a thing either. I need to keep my hands engaged if i have any hope of hearing anything.

For prompts, can you draw Fearne setting flowers in her hair and horns? I love how you draw her fuzzy, and your flowers are always so pretty

🤝

fuzzy-faced-fearne truthers

[bread-wizards]

There is something so interesting about Orym having an idea that Laudna killing Bor'dor could bring Delilah back when you look at it in comparison to his character in EXU.

EXU Orym threatened Dorian because of the chance that, if things went sour, Dorian might put on the crown and get involved with this betrayer god. He saw the effects it was having on his friend and thought 'you will throw yourself on the fire to keep us warm and I need to step in to stop that'.

Current Orym sees his friend drawing on dark magics, the powers of a woman who has tormented her for years, who she fears, and when she herself is slipping to such a dark place and ready to kill someone, he nods. 'This is war' he says. 'We may need this' he thinks.

Because the first time he dealt with the Ruby Vaguard, they killed his father and husband. The second time they killed him, Fearne and Laudna. The last time they faced them, they succeeded in their plan to help bring the end of the gods and nearly killed his leader. I imagine he isn't feeling too optimistic about the next confrontation. Hes exhausted and probably scared and so when he hears that this guy is lying to them, that he is with the people who has done this to them, Bor'dor has to die. He is a threat and needs to be dealt with. He is a very different person to who he was at the start of this journey.

Laudna, already in a dark place after everything, now betrayed once again, possibly taps into Delilah knowing the conseqences but goes for it anyways. Who knows if she even could have been stopped. But she acts first and there is no one there to draw a sword and tell her to put the crown down.

[its-your-mind]

Taliesin: Percy's right there, what did you expect me to do? He knew. He had no illusions.

Thinkin about Percy laying in bed at night (alone watching over Whitestone while his wife is presumably off doing world-saving shit) thinking about that annoying as SHIT earth genasi punk who keeps popping up, insults and mocks him, shows outright contempt for his authority, and so very clearly has no idea what the hell they’re doing.

Percy’s probably top three smartest CR characters, and not only that, he’s an engineer. He knows a formula, a pattern, when he sees one - haphazard group of cast-offs and overpowered nobodies trying to save the world? Walking into rooms full of powerful and important people they don’t quite know how to act around? Succeeding and surviving through dumb luck, sheer force of will, and the strong family connections they’ve forged with each other? He knows this story. Hell, he made a cuckoo clock of this story.

And while he and Ashton might be complete opposites on the surface, he knows how it feels to have the kind of family who you’re constantly running with side-by-side into danger. He knows loss. He knows exactly how heavy a weight the responsibility of “saving the world” is.

So when the Hells walk in holding a shard of a titan, bearing news that Ashton is holding one inside already? When Allura tells them that the power that’s already inside Ashton just needs something to awaken it? When Ashton sits down with her to have a serious conversation for the first time Percy’s witnessed? They talk about drawing power into yourself, unknown effects, a power too dangerous to be allowed in the world for too long, that could be used for morally reprehensible things…

And a person who has so very clearly been ravaged by life just as much as Percy had by the time he was their age. At least all the visible consequences Percy had had to deal with was the white hair - he could pass that off as premature aging. Ashton wears their damage on their body, up their arm, across their face. Their skull is translucent, for gods’ sakes.

And now, Bells Hells has to save the world. And here in front of them is an ancient shard of a titan, and the means to absorb its power. Ashton already has two of the foundational powers of Exandria in their body - a shard of the Empress of Earth, and a piece of the Luxon. Based on what Allura has said, it’s a miracle their body still holds together at all.

Percy is good at noticing patterns.

Someone who has been shown some of the worst parts of the world without any opportunity to heal properly from their past. Visibly damaged, but with their chin held high and an eyebrow raised to the world, as if daring someone to comment on it. Someone who, by all rights, should have been dead already. Someone who doesn’t have a choice but to keep living.

Offered power. The chance to make a difference, to achieve your goals, using and building on the talents and traits you already have. No clear understanding of what accepting this power may mean for you. Not caring all that much either. Being willing to sacrifice yourself in pursuit of a singular goal.

Who else does that sound like?

I wonder if some part of him almost stepped in and removed temptation. Locked the funnel away, told Allura to take the shard and go, sent the Hells off in a rush, without giving them time to remember the burning shard sitting on his worktable. Spared someone else the curse ability to make this choice at all. But of course, it’s not his job to stand between a reckless stranger and their own stupidity, especially not when the world is at stake.

So when Ashton walks up those ziggurat stairs? When they are the one to send everyone but Fearne away, to request “privacy,” multiple times? Of course Percy knows what they’re about to do.

Going off alone to take a risk onto yourself so it won’t hurt your family? Not telling them because you don’t trust that they’ll let you do what needs to be done? Accepting power into yourself without understanding exactly what it is you’re getting into?

Allowing only one person to see you broken and vulnerable?

How ironic that Cassandra volunteered the ziggurat as a staging ground. The same tunnels where Orthax was destroyed will now bear witness to the birth (or failed emergence) of a new kind of explosive elemental power. Something new to be fashioned of fire and earth. Something never before seen in Exandria. A new creation that will have the power to change the fate of the entire world.

[hiyaluronic]

At this point I don’t want to catch up with them Team No Healing… I just want the two too finally come together Imogen, FCG, Fearne, Chetney all so happy to finally be reunited only to realize Team No Healing is covered in blood and has a codependency bond that would make the Winchester Brothers jealous. This group saw some shit and has been through it nine ways from Sunday and I would love to keep it mysterious and just slowly unfold as the two groups reorient with one another.

just small things at first. Ashton growling anytime Fearne gets to close to Orym or Imogen goes to touch Laudna and both Ashton and Orym slowly draw closer to our living dead girl to put themselves between the two. The group sleeps cuddled together with Orym in the middle to make sure he actually sleeps instead of trying to stay up all night to keep watch. Just little things that make Team Wildmount concerned about what transpired while they were all apart.

the first fight the reunited group encounter Ashton goes into a fiery rage —he’s had to become more ruthless over the months, the longer an enemy is up the more chance they have to severely injure one of them and with no healer that could mean death—that worries the others about the brutality of his attacks but after the enemy has been felled… they watch as Orym gently curls around Ashton’s waist and Laudna slowly wraps her arms around him tight from behind and softly tells him it’s time to come back to them, bad guys are gone and with a few harsh breaths Ashton shakes his rage off and slumps to the ground, exhausted.

yeah this group has seen been through some stuff and their friends aren’t sure what happened to the three but they’d like to find out. For better or worse.

[awaytobeunshaken]

The More They Stay the Same

Orym is still sitting in the garden long after the rest of them have scattered. He still wishes Fearne had said something to him. He’s not sure if she really wanted it, or she just felt like she had no choice, but either way, it was over now. And she seemed satisfied, seemed to be bonding now, with Ashton, in their shared elemental powers. Good for them.

It did almost make him wish he’d taken up more of the druidic practices of the Ashari. He’d never really had much interest in it, or aptitude to be honest, and deep down he doesn’t really think he’d be as comfortable with that life, but he’s feeling more alone than he has since he started traveling with the old crew, and that's never bred anything in him but regret.

His ears perk up at the sound of footsteps crunching across burnt leaves, and he swivels his head around to see Ashton crossing the platform. Not the Ashton that walked away an hour or so ago; they’ve still got the lava rock arm, but apart from that it’s the same genasi form that Orym first met.

“Hey.” And he could swear his voice sounds smaller than it used to. “You’re back.”

Ashton seems to grasp his meaning, taking a long look at his arm before answering, “Yeah.” He sits beside Orym, bicep not quite touching his shoulder but close enough for him to rest against, if he wanted. He doesn’t, though, keeping his gaze off into the wilderness. “You know this doesn’t change anything between us, right? Between any of us.”

Orym shrugs. “What’s there to change?”

“Just, like, stuff like this, being able to check in with each other… Look, I’m not gonna go off and hook up with Fearne just because everyone seems to think we should.” Orym draws his knees in, hunching over them. “Hey, I mean it. We just both figured out some cool shit we can do, that’s all. I’m not stealing your best friend away from you.”

“I never even realized she was having reservations about it before. She never said anything about it to me. Maybe I’m not as good a friend as I thought.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“I would’ve taken the shard myself, if I’d known. I was ready to take it today, if she hadn’t changed her mind.”

“Maybe that’s why she didn’t want to tell you. You, ah, don’t always show the highest concern for your own skin. And yes, I realize what a massive hypocrite I am to tell you that. Still, I’m not gonna lie, that would’ve been pretty cool.” He reaches over to tousle Orym’s hair, in an attempt to approximate Fearne’s fiery mane as best he could with the short strands. “We could’ve been, like, brothers. Or maybe not… fuck, I dunno. This is crazy.” They shake their head like they’re trying to knock something loose. “But I guess a lot of crazy shit has happened today.”

They turn towards Orym, and place their right hand on his cheek, and the stone is rough and dry and yet somehow it feels so alive as it guides his face toward Ashton’s. And Ashton’s lips are cool, and not rough at all, and they settle against Orym’s like they belong there, just for a moment before pulling away.

They’d come to the Feywild in an attempt to slow down time for a moment, but now it seems to have stopped entirely, Orym’s entire world resting between one heartbeat and the next. But as reality reasserts itself around him, he recalls what Fearne told him about what happened on the ziggurat. “So. You’re just giving those out to everyone, now?”

“Not this time.” Ashton’s eyes lose focus, his gaze drifting toward the background. “But, like I said, today’s been weird, so if you wanna just forget…”

They don’t get a chance to finish as Orym stands and leans in for another kiss.

ao3

[thebeedleboat]

This was a background thing in a different drawing that I didn’t finish, so I made this bigger instead - I kinda wish I’d added Orym doing some acrobatics though.

[Image Description: Digital colour picture of Ashton holding the end of FCG's grappling hook as a skipping rope for Imogen, Fearne and Chetney. Imogen is flying, Fearne has leapt far above head height and Chetney is struggling to keep up. The background is of a field with mountains behind. End ID]

[danwhobrowses]

Well fellow Callowmoores, it's almost 2024 and that will potentially be the year we see endgame of Campaign 3 - given how we've returned to the Bloody Bridge and likely intend to throw down on Ruidus and fight Predathos (somehow). Nevertheless, we're about halfway through our three week wait for another episode and since we're on the verge of intense and emotionally-charged battles ahead there'll probably be little time for romantic activity - little does not mean none, mind you - during it. Last time we had a wait like this I did a post on some underrated Callowmoore moments from the Shard Incident episodes, but since others have already wonderfully dissected the recent Feywild episodes' romantic moments I'm afraid I don't have much else to add to that. I do, however, have a bunch of mental scenarios that didn't come to be, or have yet to come to be in different contexts to how I previously thought them up. So I thought; it's the new year, why not indulge the artists and fanfic writers who can do a better job than I can with it?

So if you like some of these things, treat it as a free prompt; draw, write, flourish however you see fit, and have a Happy New Year!

If you kept reading after that awesome, I was a little worried the main thing would be a tldr situation, and still could be I didn't expect the bullets to be as long...they were actually even longer at first so not sorry but also sorry? I guess. But anyway, we know what you're here for so let's go.

Note: The scenarios were devised to keep me from suffering crippling doubt and mental shutdown between episodes so mostly they'll be fluffy and comfort-oriented than angsty.

As mentioned before, Fearne pickpocketing the Ashton doll Laudna made to practice talking to Ashton, building up to it or luring Ashton over. Ashton's awareness of the pickpocketing can grow too or they could simply allow it from the get-go "I let her take whatever she wants."

Dancing, low-hanging fruit maybe but always good for chaos, awkwardness, wingman activity, and high energy, but I'm talking folk dancing like in Titanic not ballroom dancing, that's not their or the Feywild's style

"I'll be the judge of that." specifically for when Ashton feels they're unlovable or doesn't deserve to be loved. There's also "Then I guess I'm crazy." and "You've always deserved it."

Pickpocketing one another has been their game, but I can't deny that the thought of Ashton making something for Fearne was highly appealing too, I had them make a bracelet from melted down jewelry and gems they had on them (plus a compartment with an Oleander seed and some water from the Feywild in it), imperfectly made but sturdy and still pretty. Bonus for Ashton reverse pickpocketing it onto her.

"You've always been perfect to me" is another one I mentioned before, I usually have Ashton say it (and sometimes post-Fearne taking the shard reiterate that Fearne keeps becoming more perfect in their eyes) but it can go either way.

Sleeping beside each other's a common one. Not even sexually, often it's for comfort, soothing pain/nightmares or reassuring each other, and - if Fearne hasn't disappeared beforehand leaving Ashton waking up feeling a comforting presence missing - usually not wanting to get out of bed the following morning.

Similar to the above is short rests in close quarters, a specific one is Ashton using their primordial earth powers to pull up a discrete wall for the group to hide behind and rest a little, melding into the actual wall to offer a polymorphed Fearne (a small fire lizard usually, sticking on Orym and Ashton's heads) more space so she can rest too, albeit very snugly and pressed against them - easy opening for kisses under the jawline btw.

Metaphorical but Ashton's reassurance of "You could never hurt me" regarding Fearne's primordial fire was used a bit, plus it aligns with the recent "I'll take my fire damage now" when they hugged Fearne.

Fearne being open to Ashton about her fears of being the dark version of herself, bonus quote "I don't know that person, she's not you, never will be, you're better."

Fearne pulling the Uno Reverse "The shard hurt, but knowing you were there made it hurt much less." and/or "Thank you for saving me."

Also similar to the one above are conversations post-Fearne taking the shard exploring newfound empathy for each other's (albeit more extreme) positions at Whitestone; Fearne experiencing the intensity of the shard's fire, and Ashton experiencing the dread of seeing Fearne in pain from it and being afraid to lose her.

"Whatever happens, promise you'll come back to me" is a pertinent one for the current setting too.

What is that? 1, 2...12! One for each month, there's of course more, some are simple low-hanging fruit or more detailed (no seriously I trimmed a lot of these bullet points down in detail) but for the sake of length we'll stop here. Once again, Happy New Year my fellow Critters and Callowmoores!

[cassafrasscr]

Here's the thing... I don't feel particularly good about Fearne taking the shard.

Like, Ashley seems happy and excited about Fearne's new form and powers, and I am glad about that.

I really just can't shake the feeling that Fearne was ultimately pressured into taking the shard. They should have taken more time to discuss it and actually listened to Fearne's reasons for not wanting it. Chetney was the only one who asked her about it, and he still tried to persuade her to change her mind.

Laudna and Imogen didn't ask at all, only talked about how disappointed they were that she was hesitant to take the shard's power. I know they're leaning into the whole 'embracing their darkness and power' thing, but they of all people should be most sympathetic about Fearne being afraid of how doing that could change her for the worse.

I think at least part of this is the disconnect between IRL time and in-game time. Above-table, it's been over a month since Ashton’s failed attempt to take the shard. In-game, it's been no more than 2 days. It's only been a few hours since Fearne found out the truth about who her real father is. Most of that time has been spent on the team-building scavenger hunt. There hasn't actually been time to properly process all that.

There's also the issue of Fearne's bodily autonomy to consider. For any character, taking the shard would mean accepting permanent changes to both their physical body and their powers. Ashton didn't even get to keep the Shard of Rau'shan, and look what it did to him! He lost an arm; grew a new, completely different one; and very nearly died permanently. Putting that much pressure on Fearne to accept that level of risk and self-alteration when she'd already said no is not good friend behaviour.

I would be fine with Fearne taking the shard if (instead of everyone just continuously insisting she should take it) they had respected her initial decision and let her gain the confidence to change her mind on her own.

I also would also have liked to see Fearne learning to stand up for herself and her decisions as part of her 'embracing your power' character arc. Drawing boundaries with your friends and actually enforcing them is really hard, but it’s also necessary for building healthy relationships.

Trusting Fearne's judgement on what's best for her and respecting her decisions would have been better for rebuilding the broken relationships between Bell's Hells. As it is, I don't know how much is actually going to change between them after this retreat.

Not to mention how some of them - mainly Imogen and Laudna - have kind of been trying to force something to happen between Fearne and Ashton. Like, I make no secret of being an Ashrym shipper, but I wouldn’t be comfortable with it even if I did ship Callowmoore. Like I already said, it's been 2 days max since Ashton exploded. That experience really rattled their relationship and it'll take more time and work to rebuild. If Callowmoore is going to happen, let it happen naturally.

I'm glad Allura took the time to remind them that, while the moon mission is urgent, it is still just a recon mission. Once they gather and hand off the information, they'll have more time again to step back and take a breather, and potentially decide not to involve themselves any further if they don’t want to.

(Obviously they're not gonna ditch and leave the Ruby Vanguard to VM and the M9 to deal with - they're all too invested in the outcome to back out, and it's the central plot of C3. But knowing they have the option, and that they'll have some time to make that final decision is, I think, important for their character arcs going forward.)

I dunno. Maybe it's a hot take, but it just kinda leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e77

"You volunteered to be the recon team that goes to the moon" what a fucking sentence.

Laudna, Fearne, and Imogen go wandering around the castle. Laudna guides them; she wasn't just someone who got picked by Delilah, she would also often take refuge in the tunnels beneath the castle and steal things from it like a mouse in the walls. She also says that she was "captured" before being brought to the dining hall, rather than having been invited there for a nice dinner like she'd said before.

Imogen summons a reiloran to..... unlock a door for her. She's able to summon multiple types of reilorans; this one is a Hexmind, and I'd guess that this one has skills, another type has melee attacks, and a third has ranged attacks.

In the room that Delilah used as a bedroom, they find a hidden chamber: it's filled with strangely-shaped furniture, desks, contraptions, equipment -- like a laboratory. More than that, it was a torture chamber, with refined residuum dust all across the floor and hungry shadows. Initiative!

Laudna's ability is actually called hunger of the shadow-shard. It allows her to absorb the target's soul, and deals 4d8 necrotic damage on a successful melee attack. The creature takes no damage (it's immune to necrotic), and recognizes Delilah within her -- the form of dread looks more like Delilah than ever before, with a choker around her neck and a second pair of shoulders over hers.

As the shadows fall, they all hear a voice: "Loyal servants of the castle. They were all useful subjects." It's Delilah's voice, emanating from Laudna. "It's interesting; you found some of my old additions to the castle grounds. A place to keep Sylas to rest, a place to experiment -- it's nice to see it again. [What am I to you? Are there others like me?] There are no others like you. [So I'm your only thread to the material world.] As I am yours. You have been dead for a very long time. I am the only thing that keeps you here. So let us put aside these strange and unnecessary quarrels and instead,maybe, do some great things together. I'm sure you've many questions -- well? What is it you wish to know?"

What are you after? I wish nothing more than to see history come to its natural close. I want to outlive this world, to uncover its mysteries and keep them to myself. What's so wrong with that?

You may live to see the day, then, unless you help us defeat Predathos. I do not push against your goals. Truth be told, Our interests are quite aligned. I leant you my gifts because you need them and I need you; I should hope thta offers you some solace. [Vecna] has little to gain from the destruction of the gods; I gave up everything to create one. His power is through you, as well. He -- I -- do not wish to see that taken by the enemy of ancient insolence.

And if Vecna goes away? So do we.

Delilah wants Laudna to devour more magic -- she recalls absorbing the gnarlrock, the soul from Bordor, the hunger. Life, power -- and if Laudna grants enough to her, she may be able to separate their souls while keeping Laudna intact. With a new body and new power, the first thing she would do is to bring Sylas back.

"I didn't choose this!" "No. But fate's a fickle mistress, isn't she?"

Delilah also senses that Fearne has the potential to become something terrible and beautiful, a meeting of realms. She recalls looking through a mirror into possible futures,

Imogen, she says, is the child of the god-eater -- "fate itself fears you, and rightly so. No one knows the limits of what you can do, what you're capable of if you should find out... where one like you would normally draw the eyes of the gods, you are anathema to them. You might be the one to choose the future of this world, if your mother doesn't make it first."

"Imogen, I need you to make me a promise. If something happens to me, the greatest honor you could give would be to move on. To be happy. To live, to live! I am quite literally a dead end. If anything happens and I become her little puppet, I trust you to make the right choice." I don't know why but this feels..... unearned, somehow.

Scavenging the room, they find nothing of use.

As they leave, Delilah creeps into Laudna's mind again. "Let us work together. Despite everything, I do care for you." "Let's do beautiful and terrible things together."

And to break!

The morning opens with a lovely little speech from Orym to Fearne. "I got you something." "What?" "I stole it!" "What?!" He gives her the spyglass he stole from the skeleton pirates!

For Chetney, he's doing this because he wants to go to the moon, yes, but also because he wants to be remembered. He's getting old, so he wants to leave his mark on the world -- for him, it's about legacy, planting seeds in a garden he'll never get to see. (i'm SORRY--)

Orym wants to avenge his husband and Derrig, wants to protect the Tempest, yes -- but if his life is lost in defense of all the lives on Exandria, or in defense of the Bells Hells, then it is well-spent. "But what about you? What's your happy ending?" "Tomorrow."

It's snowing in Whitestone, and Ashton doesn't know what sledding is. They decide to take the day to have fun, to remind themselves that they at least love each other even when they don't like each other, and to remember why they're not gonna kill each other when the stupid decisions eventually come.

Allura and Cassandra are supposed to arrive in the afternoon, so the Bells Hells disperse throughout the city to spend the time.

Imogen goes to the temple of the Dawnfather. It's certainly interesting that, between the structure of this temple, the attitude and vocabulary of the arbiter, and the General Vibe of the Place, this place is the most like a real-life Christian church I think we've experienced in Exandria thus far. Regardless, there's a massive difference between the way the Dawnfather's temple receives a non-believer versus temples of, say, the Matron (who has twice granted literal visions to people who have never once prayed to her).

But she prays anyway. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I hope you know we're trying to fix things for y'all, and if everything goes right then hopefully you'll have the power to help us in return. I'm not looking to make any deals, I know that's not something you're supposed to do with gods, but I could really use your help with her -- I know you're more powerful, I know you are, and I guess I could call that faith. But anyway, I'm gonna try real hard to help you. Thanks." She leaves the door slightly ajar as she leaves, and glancing up, she immediately sees the snow-dappled statue of the Matron looming over the graveyard, over the figure of Vax'ildan, the cold vision of death. A raven takes off into the snow. There is no warmth, and there is no response.

Orym heads to the Whitestone expansion of Gilmore's Glorious Goods. The storefront is bare, picked clean by the war effort. He buys 3 basic healing potions, a potion of heroism, and some pastries from Pike's bakery.

Ashton and Fearne go on a walk to the clocktower. "Could you imagine being so pasionate about your life that you'd do something like this? Up until recently, I would've said no... if everything goes terrible, your Nan is going to miss you so much. But if everything goes terrible, no one's gonna miss me, because everyone who would care would be right there with me."

y'all my Rockwild heart is thriving-- "well, when I said sister, you know I meant... I mean, you're hot and otherwise, you've got it going on--"

fuck. Ashton trusts someone. They trust Fearne to make the right decision, and they trust themselves to let Fearne make the right decision, and they are so convinced that they were never meant to have anything but if Fearne survived and they didn't they know that someone will miss them.

but Ashton wants Fearne to be their acomplice in allowing them to absorb the second shard, even against the will of everyone else in the group, just because they think that it is what's meant to happen. they want it to be Fearne and them alone, when the transfusion happens, because they don't think Fearne will try to stop them. "do what you can, and if I'm not okay, it's not your fault."

"Well, I-- I think you're pretty hot too." And Fearne runs the fuck away

They reconvene in the war room with Cassandra, Percy, and Allura.

I'm not transcribing all of this, there's a ridiculous amount of information here, so here are the highlights.

Residuum seems to be mostly unaffected by the solstice, and it is very uncommon for people to understand the workings of complex machines, so Percy offers a way to scramble their automatons to cause a distraction (and suddenly, this ornery old man has a Christmas-morning sparkle in his eye); they're essentially arcane EMPs. There are only 2, and FCG takes both.

They've also agreed that an onslaught of magical illusions would provide sufficient distraction en masse. It sounds like Allura will be the point-person for this, and on top of her being a 20th-level wizard, her magic will be amplified by the nexus point at the key.

The Hells are given a number of magical items: 2 scrolls of mass nondetection; 1 scroll of greater restoration (for Ryn); 1 scroll of dimension door; 2 potions of greater healing; 1 potion of superior healing; 1 potion of speed; 2 potions of gaseous form; and a bejeweled baking sheet worth 1000gp (the material component for heroes' feast).

Next is the matter of Ludinus' vest and the titan shard. First, the place: at the prompting of Cassandra, Percy leads them through well-carved, well-guarded pathways to a chamber; there are researchers here, in this cavern crowned by massive roots, and they climb the steps of the Ziggurat.

(I cannot believe that Travis resisted the urge to use grim psychometry on this place--)

I also can't believe that the Bells Hells are just...... okay with Ashton and Fearne doing this alone. They're not even questioning Ashton's extremely shifty behavior here, insisting that everyone goes away before someone puts the harness on. It legit feels out of character for them to just leave (especially Orym, with his absolutely ridiculous passive insight, and Percy, who's about to leave two near-complete strangers to do whatever they will at the top of this ziggurat).

There's something that's just so incredibly frustrating and wrong about this encounter and I really don't know what it is.

Ashton puts the harness on, and Fearne puts the crystal into it. They feel warmth in their chest, and it begins to blossom -- warm to hot to burning -- the golden fractures on Ashton's skin glow orange. The heat feels like something is trying to awaken, like a second heartbeat, a dormant organ -- it flexes, their shoulder lurches, and the heat goes there. It cracks and falls, shatters on the ground. "Don't you dare--"

The heat spreads, and through Ashton's grin, their ear shatters on the ground. The gold is molten, running, the rock of his skin is smoldering. The crystal loses its color, crumbles, and falls away; Ashton's chest is glowing like a furnace, their body expands slightly, and with each lurch -- like an earthquake that changes tectonic plates -- parts of them fall away.

Ashton fails a saving throw, they close their eyes and look to Fearne -- where their eyes were, there are coals that emit burning light, their body shakes -- another shift, their chest expands, and their right arm falls and shatters.

They start to run up the ziggurat. Ashton staggers toward FCG, FCG puts up a death ward, Fearne casts aura of life, Imogen uses telekinesis to keep Ashton together. None of it's going to work, Ashton is going to fucking die here -- and as much as I do think that Orym, Laudna, and FCG acted incredibly out of character, I also think that, with the context of Molly's death, Matt is giving a fucking masterclass in acting. I genuinely cannot tell whether he's legitimately distraught about Ashton definitely dying here, or if he's putting on a show because he knows that Ashton is coming out the other side of this changed.

"You are a man, currently holding two bombs on the verge of detonation." The gold parts of his body glows bright-hot, his face tenses, and beams of sheer white light shine into the roots of the Sun Tree and Ashton shatters -- until his ring of temporal salvation pulls him back together. They have five rounds to keep them up for.

Their only hope right now is to keep ahead of the damage, but Laudna has already given up and is trying to drag Imogen and Chetney back out of Allura's protective sphere even though she has some perfectly good healing spells in her arsenal. The party is in triage mode, they're throwing everything at this, but they only have a few more rounds to go, and Chetney and Laudna have done absolutely fucking NOTHING.

"Have you not realized that I'm a hypocrite?!" Ashton my beloved

FCG's aura of vitality is saving the fucking day here, and this only supports my hypothesis that it is the best fucking healing spell in the game.

"anyone wanna use up any more healing spells they have here?" Laudna, who has wither and bloom: *silence*

with everything that Matt has said, doing this should've killed Ashton instantly. But because of 2/3rds of the rest of their group, and a couple lucky rolls, and an overpowered spell or two--

"There's a moment where you think he's gone. And then, he erupts in steam, filling the entirety of the ziggurat with mist. You pull back, the heat burning your eyes, and you can't help but cough -- and as it passes, you look over and see Ashton there, cooling. Unmoving."

Ashton sits up, and where their arm was, there is a heavy, muscular, molten-rock arm replacing what they lost. It glows, and where gold once was, there is now just cracks of orange in the crust atop magma. "Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for saving me." Fearne just kicks him in the face with a hoof. "I am never trusting you again!"

They stand beneath the roots of the Sun Tree, and for whatever loss this place has seen, at least something was saved here.

[masterqwertster]

For the Put a Guy in a Situation prompt, how about 52? And I'm always partial to Ashton.

Prompt Think I managed a fun twist with this one. 52 Faked Death/Presumed Dead

When Ashton and FCG don't come down to join the rest of Bells Hells when even Ashton should be awake and moving already, they go up to check on the pair.

They find a murder scene.

Ashton… is still as unliving stone in the bed, a wine-dark stain spread over the sheets and their clothes centered over their heart. And Orym has to grab Fearne’s skirts to keep her from wasting a diamond on Revivify. The blood is long dried.

The look of sad hurt she gives him echoes what he feels himself. Though she hasn't hit the cold fury that's already begun burning in Orym. Someone murdered their friend in his sleep. There’s a good chance they can bring him back in time, but it doesn’t change that someone killed Ashton, that whoever did this needs to answer for it.

And poor FCG is still in the corner, and not in the way they are when in stasis.

…but there's just the faintest hum of their arcane power core, barely audible to even Orym’s sharp ears.

There's still a hope for FCG, maybe.

Chetney must hear it too, because he quickly scuttles forward to start prying open the aeormaton's chestplate to get at their core.

Something about this doesn’t sit right with Orym. He’s not sure what, but something here is wrong. Besides the death.

A victorious little huff turns the halfling’s attention back to Chetney and FCG. The cleric’s chest is open, baring a weakly flickering power core.

Imogen and Laudna are over there almost immediately, debating the best way to juice FCG back into waking up. The merits of different magical energies, how much to apply at once. It's all over Orym’s head, martial fighter that he is.

A gentle nudge to Fearne’s flank sends her tottering their way with a gentle suggestion to see if a little healing won't fix their barely alive companion.

The witches handling FCG allows Orym to make eye contact with Chetney and motion toward the bed. The girls will save what can be immediately saved, he and the old gnome can see what information their friend's corpse has to share.

They draw close but don't touch anything, not yet. Instead Orym stares, taking in every detail he can, while Chetney inhales a deep breath through his nose, searching for the scents of the killer.

It's a clean death. By all appearances, Ashton didn't even struggle. Which is so anathema to the unrelenting force of will and life of the earthkin he knows that Orym can hardly believe it.

…And maybe he shouldn't.

Orym knows Zephrah, knows what they use to make clothing. And he’s seen Ashton’s new clothes up close plenty. The clothes on the corpse look like what Fanny Z made for Ashton, but they’re made of the wrong kind of fabric, made with the wrong dye.

He turns to Chetney to share this strange detail, this small hope, to see an equally perturbed look on the werewolf's face.

"Those aren't Ashton’s clothes," Orym tells the old gnome. "They’re made with the wrong materials."

"I don't think it's even their body," Chetney nods. "Blood's real enough, but the rest of it doesn't smell like him."

And a chance, a hope shouldn't make Orym so weak-kneed, but damnit, the idea that his friend, another family member, isn't dead on his watch is such a relief.

An exclamation from the corner heralds the witches successfully bringing FCG back up.

Good, good. They've got a friend to find and take back.

Essentially, Ashton got kidnapped, the kidnappers fucked with FCG so he wouldn't wake up on them, then planted a "dead" statue double to try and dodge having anyone hunting them because "it was murder not a kidnapping." But Orym and Chetney are too good at what they do to not notice the fake.

[distant--shadow]

fearne's hand-painted skin curtains and the whole party seeming to forget leather is a thing but i suppose when fearne phrases it like That and forgets the word for/process of tanning its pretty funny. and her writihing and screaming human-shaped topiaries? (once again gestures to that gustave dore post about laudna's form of dread) love her even more.

witches finally combo-attacking again and turning a centaur into pulp? fed and want to draw. (also somethin queer and symbolic in how laura wanted to describe the spells combined taking the form of laudnas and imogens intertwining with fearnes spiralling around them? fearne the enabler indeed)

imogen's favourite flowers are peonies? (or at least peony-aligned) they grew in the fields back in gelvaan and she used to keep them in her bedroom?

orym makes imogen a bed of peonies that are not light pink like the ones back home but closer to her hair colour, and her and laudna fall alseep holing hands on them and imogen purposefully holds their arms palm out so their red threads are touching? fed, gay, and want to draw.

one thing though, i really don't remember laudna having the red thread on her wrist too? (i know its the thread from the spool on her belt) i remember imogen being given some of fearnes ribbon which laudna tied her red thread around to anchor her in her dreams but does anyone know if laudna had one too? is laura just on some gay red-thread shit?

🚨🚨🚨(important question)🚨🚨🚨

[utilitycaster]

also like, the cast approves the official art right? the official artist does not just make changes however they please

so i understand it not being up to your taste or whatever but this is how the cast wanted it to be, so being rude to the official artist accomplishes absolutely nothing

So here’s the thing: it’s totally fine to not like the cast's decisions! I think a lot of the weirdness I feel exists and talk about frequently is that there’s this unevenness and inconsistency in who you can criticize and the content of that criticism. Like, the main reason why ship discourse is so fucking fraught is because no one ever says “I wanted these two characters to kiss and then they didn’t and I’m sad.” It has to be “This guy’s story was clearly building up to a roaring rampage of revenge and this player was clearly avoiding their backstory and was obviously burnt out on the character and this character was clearly being infantilized in the ship I didn’t like and convenient, isn’t it how almost all of this is in the passive voice and I’m not actually coming out and saying I personally simply wasn’t happy with the choices the cast made?”

What’s also super telling is that I keep seeing the exact term “yassified” with regards to Fearne (and to a lesser extent Imogen). First off, whenever I see a very specific turn of phrase repeatedly it’s always a bit of a sign of like…does the person posting this actually feel this way in their individual thoughts or are they just parroting others. But what’s far more interesting is that Friederichs has outright said she fell somewhat short of Ashley’s intentions with regards to Fearne in the initial art, and was able to better grasp the uncanny and too-bright nature of the character now that she's seen the character in action for much longer.

It’s not really about what the cast wants. It’s literally as basic as “they changed it and I don’t like change.” And to be clear that’s very human and understandable. Before going back for my grad degree I worked in a tech role that bridged the gap between developers and end users, and people will lose their shit over minor cosmetic changes in software, let me tell you - but it’s also not rational, and it doesn’t need to be justified. A big part of life is realizing that brains are to an extent wired to be sensitive to changes in their environment, but if it’s a harmless change, it’s often beneficial to take a deep breath and let it sit for a while before knee-jerk deciding you hate it.

But I think my biggest gripe is that like, we’ve just seen the immensely swollen heads unofficial fan artists get about their work. We’ve seen people come up with truly bananacrackers faux social justice reasons to defend every hack who thinks they’re making a ~*statement*~ by drawing Imogen wearing the same exact style of glasses as twenty other people. We’ve even seen unofficial fan artists claim that their ability to make work that people will pay for is in fact evidence of their validity and contributions compared to others in the fandom. And then the second a fan artist actually gets paid by the production because they liked her art enough to hire her, it’s open season, apparently.

Personally? I strongly suspect the reason why the art of female characters in the cast gets the most criticism is because the weird refusal of many fans to be normal and say ‘hey I don’t love their choice in roleplay here’ means there’s just gallons of simmering toxic resentment about the women in the cast and their characters and choices below the surface, and somehow the official artists (who have also all been women) are considered an acceptable target for this bile.

There are also people I respect who aren’t loving the art! I think that’s a completely reasonable response. But they’re not making up a zillion reasons why actually they are correct, or yapping about it in highly visible places! It's fine to dislike it - just admit this is a personal preference with nothing deep behind it and keep it out of the tags! Like, part of why I’m so fucking wild about this relatively minor thing is when I (and others) have made untagged “I’m not a fan of this choice” posts I’ve gotten a barrage of anons thinking it’s time to change my mind and how dare you the cast likes it but for the official art it’s suddenly totally cool to be a huge fucking asshole in public.

[railroad-migraine]

I’ve been reading your writing for a bit now and I absolutely adore it!! Could I request a Bells Hell x reader head-cannons(?) were the group is running away from Wilders or something in a busy street, and reader gets pulled into a alleyway to hide and don’t notice straight away how close they are to who ever pulled them in until they’re aware their chasers have given up???

Hehehehehheeheheheh.

I like this trope too.

~ Poet

Tight Squeeze (hiding in an alley together)

Ashton 💙

Casually suggests that you make out to throw whoever is chasing you off the scent. You gape at him, speechless he could even think of such things at a time like this. With a waggle of their eyebrows, Ashton snorts in amusement and you have to physically place your hand over their mouth to muffle his laughter.

There's a warning glint in your eyes as you stare them down, daring them to continue drawing attention to the hiding spot. It's... Kinda hot, if he's honest, and his laughter dies down into quiet chuckles before going completely silent. It's only then do you register the light press of his lips against your palm. After what can only be described as a staring contest, Ashton reaches up, holds your wrist, and gently pries it away from his mouth.

You allow the barbarian to take your elbow and drag you back into the open air to blend in wth crowds and shuffle back to the Bell's Hells meeting point. You can still feel the tingle at the centre of your palm when they look over their shoulder at you with their signature grin.

-

Chetney 💙

You almost start to think he's having an asthma attack with how laboured his breathing is after running away from the Wilders. He's panting, hands on his knees, complaining loudly how he hasn't had to run that fast in years. You have to hunker down to pinch his nose so he can pause and catch his breath.

He scrambles to push your hands away from him, grumbling and readjusting the knitted hat upon his head to keep himself occupied while you play lookout. He tries his best to hide the crimson spreading across his face.

There's a shout and the beginning of a commotion the moment you dare poke your head out, and in a moment's notice you've scooped up the gnome into your arms like a child and run. Your lungs are burning the same way Chetney's had earlier when you collapse in a new safe spot, him patting your head begrudgingly comfortingly while waiting for the others to find you.

-

Dorian 💙

The tip of his nose pokes your own and you feel as though you're drowning in those big blue eyes staring back at you. His voice is soft, his breath unusually cool - it's probably an air genasi thing, you suppose - when he asks is it alright to stand closer to you.

He sucks in a breath when your persuers race past the mouth of the alleyway, and takes an involuntary step forward, caging you into the wall and turning his back to the street. He's gentle, a reassuring weight of fabric and lightweight weaponry. He keeps you close, eyes darting between the street and your face.

Long after you hear retreating footsteps, you both haven't moved an inch. Dorian, being the gentleman he is, clears his throat and steps back, holding out his arm to the street and muttering a quiet "After you." He brushes invisible dirt off his sleeves and straightens his cloak before joining you, trying to look as presentable as he can. Death glares are made towards Chetney when you've all regrouped, not finding his wolf whistle towards Dorian's mussed hair entertaining at all.

-

Fearne 💙

It's a very narrow alley, and it's a very tight squeeze, barely enough room to avoid chest to chest. But desperate times call for desperate measures and Fearne is not complaining. Your senses are flooded by the variety of fabrics and materials the faun wears and carries with her, as well as simply being surrounded by her. What you've sacrificed in moving space you've gained in warmth and softness instead.

She effectively acts as a shield to the opening of the alley, blocking out most of, if not all, the busy street from your view. You finally register the silken cloth clutched in your hands for dear life, her dress skirt the thing that's been grounding you while anticipating your enemies to arrive any moment. You feel her fingers lift your chin, and you're all but forced to meet her gaze.

It lacks that usual mischief you've come to associate with her. Instead, she blinks slowly, lashes thick and long, analysing your expression before whispering that you're okay and she won't let anyone touch you. And you believe her, breaths mingling and her ribbons tickling your forehead. Has a reassuring hand on your shoulder when the time is right to leave.

-

Imogen 💙

She's professional about it for the most part. Even though the space between you is nearly non-existent, she puts on a mask of calm and sets her hands on your shoulders. Using you as an anchor, she pokes her head out of the alleyway, looking for the enemy when all has gone quiet.

Meanwhile, you're just simmering in the warm pleasant feeling of her hands on you. To put it simply, she feels electric this close to your body. That energy spikes the moment voices are heard not too far away and she slinks further back into the backstreet with you. When the coast is clear, she glances at you, lips slightly parted and warmth dusting her cheeks.

She smooths back her hair when the moment ends and gestures for you to follow her, leading you away from the dirty, neglected alley and leaving you wanting. She's on edge after that - you know she's just as flustered as you are.

-

Laudna 💙

She grips onto your torso like a vice, putting all her weight on you (and even then it's like holding up nothing). Thin as a rake with bones that crack and dislocate, the alley seems that much more spacious and less suffocating because of who you're hiding with.

Her nose nudges your cheek, her eyes blown wide and almost cross eyed from the proximity that makes you fondly smile without restraint. Laudna smiles back, but frets when she notices the grime on your face and shoulders from your narrow escape. She swipes at a dirt streak across the bridge of your nose, adding a boop for good measure which makes your anxiety settle as much as it can in a time like this.

You don't remember her arms curling around your waist. She's been like that ever since you were found by the others, and she doesn't seem intent on letting go any time soon.

-

Orym 💙

He's hiding behind your leg, using it as leverage as he leans out of the alley to see if you're still being followed. Unfortunately, the street is pretty crowded and he can't make out any distinguished bad guys from his height. The halfling looks up at you hesitantly, but within a heartbeat he's up in your arms.

He acts as a personal commentator in your ear, and due to the close proximity he can point out the hired guards searching in the crowded market ahead. Even now, leaning into your shoulder and legs dangling in the air, he stays level headed and a voice of reason, calming your nerves and telling you when the moment is right to leave.

He pats your cheek kindly when he's ready to reacquaint himself with the ground and offers to hold your hand to sneak by the people who've followed you. At a glimpse, he'll look like a toddler dragging you further into the city, but it feels so much more than that when he eagerly clutches two of your fingers in his fist.