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monstersdownthepath · 2 months

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Monster Spotlight: Tanuki

CR 4

Chaotic Neutral Medium Monstrous Humanoid

Bestiary 3, pg. 259

These mischievous, fun-loving, shapeshifting raccoons are far less violent or angry than the one displayed by the actual art, preferring trickery and music to brawls and battle. Fittingly enough, it's often believed that a Tanuki is born from the proto-soul that comes to inhabit any well-loved and well-used tool or appliance that manages to last a whole 100 years while still being used (an origin story that may be accurate or may yet be refuted when new canon material comes out later this year), so it's very likely that most Tanuki are generally decent folk, depending on which tool they were born from.

small annoyance before we continue: I'm a bit miffed that Paizo didn't give the Tanuki their ability to transform into inanimate objects (though they allude to it in their lore block), but it's an easy enough fix for a DM that wants to let them have one of their more famous features. We will uh. we will not be discussing their most famous feature anywhere on this blog. paizo wisely decided to leave that out.

Anyway, these amusing little raccoons live for the moment, spending their days merry and their nights curled up in the comfiest beds they can find, working to fill their lives and the lives of everyone around them with fun and food. While they can freely shapeshift into the form of a mundane raccoon, they're more likely using their 1/day Veil to masquerade as a humanoid, slipping into civilization to partake in whatever fun and festivities they can find. If they cannot find any, though, by god will they make some, utilizing their 3/day Major Creation to conjure whatever gems and gold they need to pay for it and their 1/day Create Food and Water to whip up some meager but filling fare. That this conjured money disappears an hour or so later is of no consequence to the trickster, who expects to either be long gone or too drunk to care by then. They frequent bars and eateries, exchanging songs and stories for food and drink as they look through the crowds for potential marks.

Not to steal from, mind, but to mess with. Tanuki enjoy humbling braggarts, humiliating bullies, pranking those they've judged as evil, and joking about with the dour and brooding for the entertainment of not only themselves, but whatever friends they've made for the night. Their goal is good times, after all, and anyone who sours the mood can find themselves at the tail end of whatever ridiculous scheme the Tanuki has hatched to maximize the day's joy. Though the book mentions their ability to turn weapons and tools into harmless items like teapots and cutlery, they do not possess this power in the game proper, but what they DO have is Shrink Item 1/day to collapse the first sword brought against them into a toothpick or, even more pettily, transforming the chair or table some stuck-up schmuck is sitting at into a washcloth and watching them tumble to the ground.

Shrink Item obviously has utility beyond this for the Tanuki with its days-long duration, but using it to mess with people is their go-to. Its other primary use is allowing the little raccoon men to hide weapons in unexpected places, typically having their primary weapon--a quarterstaff--masquerading as a straw stuck in their mouth, woven into their hair, or used as one half of a set of chopsticks. It's rarely brought out with the intent to kill, the Tanuki more likely to fight defensively or battle for only a few rounds as an opponent makes a fool of themselves and the little spirit can dance about and drink as it avoids their blows, but they can be startlingly vicious in combat when it comes to it.

Tanuki can wallop someone twice with each end of their staff for 1d6+2 and 1d6+1 damage a round, then quickly spin around and give them an extra slap with their sturdy tails or shoulder-check them for an additional 1d6+1 damage... but it's rarely going to stay at base numbers. Remember what I said about them drinking during battle? They have a reason to. Tanuki carry around special gourds at their side that always seem to be full of delicious sake while in their hands, and as a swift action they can drink from these gourds to gain any one of the following spell effects at will: Haste (for more AC and extra attacks), Rage (for additional damage at the cost of AC), False Life (for a chunk of long-lasting temporary HP; typically they've already done this hours ago), or Divine Favor (for +2 to attack and damage rolls). The book notes that Tanuki with more HD or class levels can gain different or more powerful spells from their sake bottles, essentially handing the DM a blank check to give them literally whatever advantage they want in case Haste + Divine Favor isn't enough to turn the tides.

This isn't without cost, as one may expect. Sake is strong stuff, and though a Tanuki's Sake Affinity blesses them with powerful magic, it also lowers their AC and their Reflex saves by 1 for one minute per drink they take, and these penalties stack with themselves. They trade their defenses for offensive power, and with only 17 AC and +5/+7/+6 as their defenses (no resistances or immunities!), they have to be sure that their offense is as powerful as possible to dissuade their targets from going further. Often, one just needs to reduce a Tanuki to about half or so HP before it cuts its losses and flees, very few willing to fight to the death for any cause, but be wary of turning your back to it once it starts running, because it's got Magic Stone 3/day and a sling to huck the enchanted pebbles to get in a few painful (and dangerous) parting shots once your defenses are down.

Some side notes before we close out: Tanuki have a constant Detect Poison on themselves, which at first seems to be there to combo with their at-will Purify Food and Drink, but PFaD is actually there to keep their travel rations created from Create Food and Water shelf-stable for as long as they need. The TRUE purpose of Detect Poison is to give the Tanuki a beer radar, because all alcohol is classified as a poison in Pathfinder. They're basically bloodhounds for booze!

You can read more about them here.

#Monster Spotlight #CR 1 to 5 #Pathfinder #dungeons and dragons #tw alcohol

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jaes1lvr · 4 months

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꒰‧ what are we? 📘 ༶ ☆༉ ✼

꒰‧ @wontree 🍵 ༶ ☆༉ ✼

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xxwillowpotatox · 7 months

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Guess who just got over their sticker anxiety and decorated their computer

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overworkedblorbobattle · 9 months

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Overworked Blorbo Battle Round 1 Poll: 40

#tournament polls #critical role #cr #the adventure zone #taz #the adventure zone balance #taz balance #laerryn coramar seelie #laerryn coramar #laerryn critical role #crtitical role laerryn #lucretia #taz lucretia #lucretia taz #round 1 #round 1 wave 5 #tournament poll

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5ecardaday · 7 months

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Yokaitober, Days 5-8

I know its the 16th and over halfway through the month, but I promise I have been (mostly) keeping up with Yokaitober. My issue is that building habits is hard, and I am definitely out of habit on posting to tumblr.

In the second series of yokai for the month, I covered a pretty wide variety of creatures, including the jubokko, a bloodthirsty tree that was actually created in the 20th century; Keizobo, one of five famous kitsune from Inaba; the yogen no tori, a helpful, pandemic-predicting raven that was "seen" only one time; and the hinoshu, a rock-like yokai the size of a germ who lives in people's spleens.

If you'd rather not wait for me to remember to post these yokai before seeing them, you can always sign up to follow me over on Patreon, where I post new yokai (almost) every day of October. Plus, if you pledge as little as $2/month, you can get access to some other great 5e homebrew, including new magic items, spells, and monsters, every single week.

#dnd #dnd 5e #dnd homebrew #yokai #yokaitober #promptober #monster #cr 5 #plant #jubokko #cr 7 #fey #keizobo #cr 1/8 #beast #yogen no tori #hinoshu #swarm

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keyleth-clay · 7 months

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Happy Birthday to me, and eternal nat 20's to my sister for the best presents!

She also got me the Vox Machina d20 set. Whenever I get a new set of dice, I do a test roll right away to see how they do, and -

#seriously #TWO separate Kiki figures AND a nat 20 on her dice?!#hello my baby hello my honey etc etc #kc speaks #Critical Role #merch #dice #CR 1 #Vox Machina #Keyleth #Vex'ahlia #Pike Trickfoot #Scanlan Shorthalt #Grog Strongjaw #Percy de Rolo #Vax'ildan #lord have mercer #in case you can't read the dice: grog = 14 vex = 18 percy = 5 vax = 5 kiki = 20 pike = 16 scanlan = 5 DM = 18 #boys of vm i'm disappointed in you

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casukaga · 2 years

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when yasha finds a snake in her and beau’s yard and takes it in as a pet

🌟 Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | Ko-fi 🌟

#another saga of: post-campaign yasha likes animals and takes some in as pets because why not #y’know when you have a yt channel you fixate on and binge watch? i’ve been binging the snake discovery yt channel recently so #i’ve had snakes on the mind #critical role #cr #cr2 #the mighty nein #yasha nydoorin #fanart #critical role fanart #casu art #my shtuff #once again: apologies i haven’t post a lot of art recently!#1.) i was working on beauyasha week for a couple weeks so i couldn’t share any of that #but you will get days 1-3. 5. and 6 from me! so look out for that tomorrow #and 2.) per usual - majority of my ideas lately are Not Safe For Work so my 18+ twitter has been getting all my rambles and art recently lol

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kingofdahiphop · 10 months

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Suletta sunday miorine monday ramblings since I'm always late: *screams at top of his lungs until he passes out*

Also thank FUCK for Felsi she's a real one. Was literally on the verge of tears during that fight.

ALSO miorine is a boss bitch she fuckin killed it this episode.

#g witch spoilers #gwitch spoilers #mobile suit gundam: the witch from mercury #witch from mercury #i had seen a cr thumbnail on yt yesrerday so i kinda knew what was gonna down at the end there but like #still was not ready for that shit #elan 5 is officially a real one #we now hate elan 1 #i mean we always did but like extra so #the witch from mercury #g witch

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sparring-spirals · 2 years

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Placing such a hard time limit using the Calamity was exceptionally good and also inherent to the tragedy of it and im thrilled by it. Don't get me wrong, forced time limits in tragedies and doomsday stories are common for a reason. They work, and they work well. but just, within the context of EXU Calamity, its really getting me.

because its always about not having enough time, right? its about expecting that you'll have more. There's complacency with power, and mistakes, and wealth, but maybe what the Ring of Brass were most indulgent with was time.

(you always think you'll have enough time, more time, another replenishment, another deal, another broadcast, another batch of bright children. youll get another time to hash out an argument with your father. you'll get another time to stay home with your kids and get to know them. you'll get another time to apologize and explain and fix your broken relationship. there's just something else, right here, right now, that should get done first.)

The Ring of Brass were rich, in so many ways. They had power, and wealth, and a million responsibilities, and so maybe they would've argued they had ZERO time, actually, and they just needed to sort everything else out first, and they'd have enough time to figure everything else out later.

but that's the point, right? There's never really a good time for this. for the important stuff, or the end of the world.

(Laerryn was, perhaps, the primary person in the Ring Of Brass operating under a time limit from the get-go, trying desperately to get the Leyline working, because if it wasn't now, it would be never. Because Quay wouldn't live that long. But even she assumed that was the extent of the time limit, that for Everything Else, there would still be time.)

(And is that such a ridiculous expectation? Is that so foolish of her? Of all of them? You never expect the world to end. You don't have infinite time, sure, but- you've got tomorrow, or next week, or- just not now.)

And so it is tragic, but it is also weirdly satisfying, to see the way time got shattered and stretched and sped throughout that last episode. The first second lasted forty minutes. They get maybe two hours at the hands of a damned demon, and its the best blessing they've ever had. Rounds are six seconds. A broadcast is maybe thirty. A healing word, a Wish, a Wall of Force, all buying paltry seconds that make all the difference. The dawn is coming, Avalir is landing, there's so much that has to be done, and that won't get done. We watch them make hard decisions, over and over, and over, and we keep saying "there's not enough time". Because of course there isn't. There could never have been.

#look i dunno alright ive just got a lot of thoughts and feelings about time and priorities and tragedies #critical role #cr spoilers #exandria unlimited #exu calamity #exu calamity part 4 #meta #the ring of brass #my meta #speculation #theres like 5 trains of thought in this meta but im feeling too lazy to break it down into multiple posts so here ya go #its something like 1- the ring of brass were rich and complacent and that extended to assuming theyd have time later #2- the general role of time limits in tragedies and the 'i thought we would have more time' as a very classic sort of setup/delivery/etc #3- sense of urgency and fear and also /purpose/ that the time limit provides working BEAUTIFULLY for calamity specifically #4- laerryn was operating under a time limit before too. the decisions you make under time constraints are not always wise. but youre trying #5- theres not enough time. they shouldve gotten more time. there is unique tragedies for each of them that they didnt get more.#6- time IS a soup #ok im good. this is why i havent written a lot of posts after the finale they all look like this. also ive been busy. i Also dont have time #spar speaks #narrative meta

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brynnmclean · 4 months

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I have been daydreaming recently about getting five of my female friends + maybe my sister (if I can lure her out of her apartment) to play D&D with me. We could play monthly. I could brave running base 5e so people can play spellcasters. We could make the setting together via Ex Novo and/or the Session 0 System. Or, I SWEAR, I'll read and run Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Or... I could enlist them to help me figure out the starter box for The One Ring 2e which I think starts out with hobbit pregen PCs. It could be fun. Trouble is... I HAVE to wrap up AKB first. I have tried to run multiple campaigns at once and it is Too Much for me (not to mention I have other hobbies)! So. I have to sit on my hands until Spring anyway. Alas.

#this has been a post #do i need a loremaster tag?#there were men in my old group but i think one wouldn't show and the other is hmm. maybe 50/50 on signing on.#and 7 players is TOO MUCH #6 is doable. 5 is normal for me. 4 is actually RAW for CRs.#so if i got 6 interested but not everyone could attend consistently it would be okay.#as long as i don't lean on PC spotlight arcs too heavily #anyway can you see how much this idea has been bouncing around my brain #i very nearly made an interest FORM the other day #i feel weirdly shy about it. maybe especially because i can't devote myself to running anything to the best of my ability until after April #and even then i'd have to make some decisions about 1) whether i want an actual DMing Break #and 2) if i want to get back into acting Shakespeare in the summer #which would make having other hobbies a little more difficult. not impossible just i'd have less time #not to mention creative energy would be less for fic -- and i miss writing fic :(#why can't i have unlimited creative energy and time to use it i ask you #/grumbles

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isagrimorie · 10 months

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“I stopped watching C3 because of the god stuff.” - some redditor.

the CR reddit is so actively pro-gods that any kind of questioning of gods they’re taking very personally. as if the fictional gods are their friends.

most of bells hells aren’t even anti-gods, they’re not atheists because they know gods exist.

bells hells are skeptical of the gods. they are skeptical if they’re worthy of worship.

the guests have expressed more of a vocal anti-gods sentiment than the bells hells.

and they’re still willing to sacrifice everything to save the world, and the gods because they know it’s the right and necessary thing to do.

also the CR reddit board being actively pro-gods is weirding me out.

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #cr spoilers #critical role c3 spoilers #cr 3x64 #bells hells

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monstersdownthepath · 9 months

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Monster Spotlight: Onyvolan

CR 3

Chaotic Neutral Monstrous Humanoid

Adventure Path: War for the Crown: Crownfall, pg. 86-87

Y’know, Pathfinder borrows creatures from just about every mythological, folkloric, and religious sphere on the planet, and every Bestiary contains a generous handful of creatures based on existing properties with enough differences that most people who recognize them will go “hey, I know that one!” Cute homages and references abound in Pathfinder, something I DO genuinely enjoy... But this one? I think the Venn Diagram crossover section between “people who play Pathfinder” and “people who’ve actually watched Return to Oz“ (or read the original sequel books) contains maybe 7 people. While not the most obscure property or story Pathfinder’s ever referenced, it’s definitely up there! I enjoy that Pathfinder’s version goes all the way back to the original story’s first description of them, making their wheels keratinous appendages instead of the mechanical augmentations they were in the movie.

And god does it make these things weird. In the whimsical Land of Oz, the weirdness of the Wheelers is perfectly at home and almost entirely glossed over as just another example of the strange natives of an even stranger world. In Pathfinder? ... well, they also don’t have an excuse. There’s ZERO explanation of where these creature’s come from, why they exist, and why they do what they do! Not even a handwave explanation of mad wizardry, magical contamination, a bloodline curse, or alchemical muckery. As far as anyone care to tell, they’re simply forms of bizarre wildlife that have evolved--naturally, magically, or otherwise--to live in human cities. And only in human cities, unfortunately; their wheeled appendages make them quick as a pony (40ft movement) and quiet as a whisper (+10 Stealth!) on flattened ground, beaten dirt roads, and stone pathways, but uneven surfaces prove to be a bane to them. They’re Easily Hampered, and any difficult terrain they encounter costs them 20ft of movement per 5ft square, slowing them to a glacial crawl.

Onyvolan are curious creatures through and through. They’re intelligent as any human and can hold perfectly lucid conversations in Common, but their entire being and culture seems to revolve around being roving gangs of bullies, scavengers, and thieves. They squat in unused buildings and abandoned homes, roving out to scavenge what they can from any source they can, prizing junkyards and garbage pits to vandalize nearby structures, as well as find food, trinkets for their odd collections, and especially clothing, their alien mindsets causing them to prize clothes above all other forms of treasure; the more garish, eye-searing, and ugly, the better. Gangs of Onyvolan look like groups of hideously-dressed street toughs on roller skates, and they act the part, too. They seem almost instinctually motivated to bully and scare any Humanoid they come across, as if they were perpetually in the mind-space of being belligerent and aggressive teenagers. often surrounding victims on all sides and shouting, growling, hissing, spitting insults, laughing, and whooping until they’ve had their fun with the object of their attention and rolling off. Their Creepy Cackle is noted to be particularly chilling, any creature within earshot needing to make a DC 14 Will save to avoid being shaken by the sound, and though success on the save renders the victim immune to that particular wheel-man’s Cackle for a day, the monstrous creatures are almost never alone.

If feeling especially brave (typically, this means outnumbering their target 3 to 1), Onyvolans will tackle and trip their victims, their Nimble Charger giving them +2 to Bull Rush and Overrun maneuvers (for a decent +9) and preventing victims from making Attacks of Opportunity in retribution. Once on the ground, Onyvolans will pilfer items from their unfortunate victim, grabbing articles of clothing or bags of groceries in their sharpened teeth before running off, cackling into the distance as they skate away at speeds the average human cannot match. Unlike a great many city-dwelling humanoids with sharpened teeth, Onyvolan aren’t man-eaters or even murderers, preferring to keep their crimes to muggings or breaking-and-entering. Their two slam attacks, each dealing 1d8+1 damage, are more for discouraging guards or punishing people who don’t fork over their belongings than actual tools for murder, and Onyvolans are Cowards (as every single bully is), easily shaken by any creature trying to Intimidate them back and preferring to flee from fights than stick around and see them to their end.

These creatures make for very strange encounters in metropolitan areas, wheeling in to harass and steal from the party before making a swift escape. Their relative harmlessness (in that they’ll beat you up but probably won’t kill you) and the low stakes they tend to involve themselves in (the most dramatic crime they’re stated to take is coordinated raids on clothiers and haberdashers) make them good targets for adventurers getting their own metaphorical wheels spinning, though despite their cowardice and the ruination that any amount of difficult terrain inflicts on them, one shouldn’t underestimate how punishing it can be to be shaken while surrounded by creatures that specialize in hitting people while they’re down. Just because you’re unlikely to die doesn’t mean you’re unlikely to lose and get all your clothes stolen, and few things are as damning to a beginning Wizard or Inquisitor as losing your big goofy hats. That’s practically like losing a class feature!

You can read more about them here.

#Monster Spotlight #CR 1 to 5 #Pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

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fluffyapplecat · 2 years

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Decided to make a lil clay Trinket to keep me company on my desk! He's about 4" tall and very loosely based on that one scene in EP 2 of LoVM at 5:50 where the guards are petting Trinket and suddenly straighten when VM walk by lol.

More info and pictures in a separate reblog later!

#critical role #vox machina #legends of vox machina #trinket #trinket critical role #clay #clay art #campaign 1 #campaign one #cr art #critical role art #(also loosely based on my snowshoe siamese when he wants cat treats tho)#(figuring out how to Sculpt Things and it not look weird was hard lol. i think i did ok!!)#problem: got into fandom 5+ years late. merch options limited #solution: make my own merch!!#my art

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oscill4te · 7 months

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#rb if u want more resultz ive never seen this asked on here tho #i have 5 omg..am thinking of making a 6th to upload work in progresses #2 are for venting. private/password protected #1 is for cr/amp twins fandom stuff #1 is me just hoarding my old username #and the last one is one where i reblog useful info like art tutorials/music to listen to later/life advice I see on dash #anyway i wanna make a 6th for art reasons... um #polls #tumblr polls

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exaltcd · 9 months

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“What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

The question jerks Imogen out of her stupor. She realizes she’s been staring at Laudna for at least a few seconds too long, and Laudna’s picked up on it. She watches her companion press her fingertips to her cheeks and temples, searching for something that doesn’t exist. Fuck. Imogen panics for a moment, rifling through her brain for an explanation. She lets out a nervous chuckle and shakes her head. “No, no— I mean... Yeah. But it’s nothin’... Just an eyelash. Here.”

An eyelash, Imogen? Really? Laudna doesn’t question her, though. She steps forward when Imogen calls, away from the tea she was preparing, and leans so Imogen can brush the imaginary eyelash away. Imogen’s gaze flits for just a millisecond to Laudna’s lips. She reaches out to get rid of the nonexistent eyelash and hesitates.

When Imogen first met Laudna she knew she was different, but she wasn’t sure how or why. Now, she knows.

Her heart races at their closeness. She briefly imagines taking Laudna’s face in her hands and kissing her. Maybe, she thinks, she wants to kiss me too. As if on cue, Laudna’s thoughts invade her mind.

We need to go to the marketplace soon. I’m running low on Imogen’s favorite tea. We need to make more money soon. Maybe I can sell some of my knick knacks. It won’t do to run out before we get to Jrusar. Or maybe I’ll—

Imogen severs the connection and quickly brushes her thumb against Laudna’s cheek. “There.” She steps away and pretends to rifle through their small pantry. “Y’know what? I’m gonna go to the market and get more tea. Wanna come?”

------

Imogen jerks awake at the sound of a short, sharp cry. When she comes to she realizes she made the sound. Next to her, Laudna stirs. Imogen quietly sits up and places one hand over her racing heart. The other goes to Laudna’s shoulder and she gently shakes it.

“Laudna?”

“Hm?” Laudna wakes to the sound of Imogen’s whisper, gently roused from a peaceful slumber. She glances around, bleary-eyed, and realizes it’s still pitch dark outside. Realizing why Imogen woke her, she comes to a little quicker and pushes herself up to sit next to her friend.

“Another nightmare?” She speaks quietly. Zhudanna’s hearing is a little sharper than most at her age and she doesn’t want to wake her. After all, she’s one of two people seemingly not completely repulsed by Laudna’s presence. The other is beside her. She slides out of bed and quietly goes to fetch a glass of water. She’s back in a flash, glass in hand, and she holds it out to Imogen. “Here.”

Imogen takes it and nods a small ‘thank you’ as she sips a little of it. The dream is the same as always, but Imogen isn’t sure she’ll ever get completely used to it. She sets the glass of water on their small bedside table and lets out a self-soothing sigh.

“I’m sorry to wake you.” That’s a lie. Laudna’s company in the wake of her nightmares is the only thing that brings her solace these days. Sometimes when she wakes she feels lost. Laudna’s like a beacon in the darkness, making sure she can find her way home. She imagines, occasionally, waking from a nightmare and Laudna holding her to soothe her back to sleep. Even though it’s a fantasy, it makes Imogen feel warm.

“Oh, nonsense!” Laudna immediately waves off Imogen’s apology. “I’ve already told you, darling... feel free to wake me anytime that nasty dream rears its head.”

Imogen lets out a shaky sigh and nods. A clammy hand comes to rest on hers and her heart skips a few beats. Laudna offers a small smile and Imogen returns it, holding her gaze. Maybe... Maybe.

The walls around her mind lower a little, and the melodic sound of Laudna’s thoughts flood inside.

Gods, I hope we have better luck with the Starpoint soon. I knew they were famous but I didn’t know they’d be a bunch of snobs. You’d think they would want to foster curious minds. I hate seeing her like this. I just want to fix it. We’ll have to schmooze with some of the upper crusts to see if we can find a connection or—

No. Not now. “You should get back to sleep. I’m feelin’ much better, but I think I’m gonna stay up for a little while.”

“Laudna gives her hand a quick squeeze and lets it go. “Are you sure?”

Imogen nods.

------

“You lied...”

There’s something wrong with this stone. Was. There was something wrong with the stone. It’s obvious because it’s all she can think about despite the fact that she and Laudna are alone on the bow of an airship. It’s nothing short of a dream. The view of the night sky is incredible. It’d be the perfect spot for a first kiss.

For once it isn’t the stream of Laudna’s thoughts that stops her from going for it. This time it’s her inability to think about anything more than the broken stone in Laudna’s hand. She feels heartsick over it.

“No! No! —I didn’t do anything, Imogen.”

Something deep inside of Imogen’s heart stirs at the sound of Laudna’s plea. The tiniest part of her wants to reach out and comfort the woman she loves so much, but she doesn’t. She stands there, tears gathering in her eyes, and wonders at the heartache of this specific betrayal. She wants to lash out, but she can’t bring herself to go that far.

“Have you felt a searing heat from it before?”

The question angers Imogen. Is she trying to make excuses? She brings her hand up and rans her hand across the back of her head in a desperate attempt to self-soothe. It does nothing to ease her mind. “No,” she answers.

“Imogen, I-I— I can fix it, I... I’ll-I’ll, I’ll fix it. We’ll fix it.”

Angry tears finally spill onto her freckled cheeks and she nods her agreement. All she wants to do is get away from Laudna—a sensation she hasn’t felt once since the first time they met.

“Yeah, we’ll fix it. We’ll fix it.” Laudna mentioned Delilah before. Imogen should stop and ask about that. She should try to figure out what happened. She shouldn’t blame Laudna because Laudna would never hurt her. At least Imogen thought she wouldn’t. Her nose crinkles in equal parts pain and disgust. “I’m gonna go to bed, Laudna.”

A few moments pass that seem to stretch out for an eternity. She fights the urge to walk away, wrestles with the look of despair on her best friend’s face. She did that. Imogen. Guilt breaks through and keeps her locked in place. She feels like maybe if Laudna asks her to stay, she might. But she doesn’t.

“...Alright.”

Imogen feels the storm roiling in her chest, whipping and howling like it does in her nightmares. She expels a shaky breath and turns to leave without another word.

------

"What do I tell her?!” Laudna tugs at her hair, in a panic about Dusk asking her out. The ruby set in Laudna’s ring catches Imogen’s eye and she smiles, pleased that she put it on so soon after receiving it.

There’s so much Imogen wants to say. Tell them you’re spoken for. No. I already told them we weren’t a thing. Tell them you’re not interested. Unless you are... Her brow furrows. “What do you wanna tell her?”

“I don’t know,” comes Laudna’s immediate reply.

Imogen holds her breath at even the slightest possibility that Laudna might say that she wants to say yes, to give it a try with Dusk. She’ll support her no matter what, but the thought of her being with someone else stings. She wrings her hands while she waits for a real answer.

A scene plays out in Imogen’s head. “I want to tell her that I can’t be with her because I’m in love with someone else,” followed by Laudna confessing she has feelings for Imogen. That’s one of the dreams she has on nights when the storm leaves her alone.

“I’ve just been so... um... really just, just wanting to make sure that we were okay. And— And just, you know...” Laudna nervously plays with her hair. “I don’t think— I haven’t accessed that part of my brain in like fifty years. So...”

“It would be strange, I know... to access that.” The message isn’t completely devastating, but it does give Imogen pause. So many times she’s wondered if Laudna feels the same way for her as she does for Laudna. The answer is right in front of her. Laudna hasn’t accessed that part of herself since she woke up. Maybe not even for a long time before that. It’s confirmation in the worst way, but not necessarily hopeless. She knows Laudna hasn’t had an easy second shot at life. People are mostly unkind. Selfishly, Imogen feels lucky that no one took the time to get to know her before Imogen came along. Whoever the imagined stranger is would’ve fallen in love with her too.

As the conversation continues, Imogen eyes the ring again. It fits Laudna’s finger like it was custom made.

There’s no question this time whether or not a kiss is appropriate. Imogen knows it isn’t, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting it. One day... if she’s lucky.

------

This feels like a dream, but not at all like the nightmares she’s grown used to. Laudna is back. Finally, Imogen no longer needs to numb herself just to get through a single day. Her love came back to her and Imogen can breathe again.

Imogen can hardly keep her hands off of Laudna. She needs to make contact, to connect and make sure that she’s not dreaming. This is real, she tells herself. She’s here. She’s back.

“It doesn’t seem real,” Imogen hears, and worries for a moment she projected her thoughts to Laudna, but when she focuses, she notices Laudna’s attention is on the Sun Tree. Of course it is. Imogen forces herself to be present. Laudna needs her now more than ever. She gently shakes her head, agreeing with her friend. Laudna takes the small encouragement and continues.

“Like I’m...” Laudna trails off, and Imogen patiently waits, “still in a dream, but this one’s just not a nightmare.” Both their gazes wander to the Sun Tree, but Imogen’s soon wanders back to Laudna. A tiny smile tugs at her lips. “This gets to be real now,” she answers, a similar mantra to the one she’s been repeating since Laudna woke up.

Laudna looks hesitant, and Imogen’s smile falters. “Are you sure?” Laudna asks, her voice shaky as she turns back toward Imogen and makes eye contact.

Imogen feels surer right now than she ever has. This is real, and she wants to show Laudna just how real it is. Words seem inadequate. She steals a quick glance towards Laudna’s lips and nods.

“This isn’t one of her tricks?”

Imogen leans toward Laudna, lips parting slightly, but she stops in her tracks. What are you doin’? She asks herself. This isn’t the time. She’s upset. Her gaze travels down to Laudna’s hands, anxiously wringing as she looks to Imogen for answers. Not now. Another time, maybe. She nods. “I’m sure,” she whispers with, she hopes, enough conviction to erase any traces of doubt in Laudna’s mind.

This seems to do the trick as Laudna visibly loses some of her tension and cracks a small smile. “You promise?” She asks. Her smile is infectious, and Imogen mirrors her expression. “Cross my heart.”

Their locked pinkies seal the promise—heart crossed, and given gladly.

------

Imogen is done waiting. If she waits any longer it feels like the lightning marks along her body will ignite and she’ll go up in flames. The scene plays out in her head: She sees Laudna. They run, embrace, and Imogen kisses her.

What happens instead is... complicated. They’re all still with the new friends they made. Laudna feels threatened by F.R.I.D.A., and she reveals that their time in Issylra was traumatizing. She’s jealous, in fact, that the rest of them seemed to have a much easier time. It all escalates so quickly, and Imogen feels Laudna slipping away from her. What’s worse? Without a window into Laudna’s mind, Imogen doesn’t know what to say to fix it. She allows space for Laudna to vent her frustrations and tries hard not to take anything she says personally. This isn’t the way she pictured it. Not even close.

The smell of freshly baked bread fills the air in the market. They’re on a shopping trip for Zhudanna, just the two of them, and it almost feels like it used to when they first rolled into town. Imogen lifts her fingertips to the circlet on her head. Then again, it feels nothing like before. She can talk to Laudna without the thoughts of everyone around her invading her mind. She can carry a conversation with Laudna without accidentally hearing Laudna’s thoughts. There’s no wall of words to block her advances. She can’t make assumptions about what Laudna wants because she doesn’t know. It’s weird, but mostly it’s exhilarating.

“That’s wonderful,” Laudna says when Imogen establishes that the circlet makes crowds much easier. “You don’t have to listen in to get my thoughts.”

The statement is so simple, but it feels revelatory. Laudna’s right. “Yeah,” she answers as she mulls it over.

“I’ll always share them willingly. You can just ask.”

She can just ask. Of course. Her gaze falls to the ground below her feet for a moment before rising to meet Laudna’s again. Gods, she’ll never get tired of looking at her. She bites down on her lip. Just ask. What have you got to lose? Ask. Ask!

“Can I kiss you?”

Silence. Not a single stray thought. It stretches out into an eternity, into endless anticipation.

“I can’t tell if it’s alright or not anymore.” She can’t hear the endless string of thoughts that always kept her at bay. This time she’s yanking hard on her tether, testing to see if it’ll snap.

The silence shrinks back into a reasonable couple of moments. “Alright,” Laudna answers, shattering the quiet between them.

“Alright.”

She’s pictured this one thousand times and it’s never taken place at the market. It’s always secluded and romantic. It always makes Imogen feel like she’s flying. But this is better than anything she’s ever dreamed up in her head. It’s better than she imagined. As their lips part, she feels like she might cry.

They still need to talk, but even if it never happens again, Imogen knows what it feels like to kiss her. Her feelings are out in the open and she feels infinitely lighter than before. Whether Laudna feels the same way or not, Imogen feels content. She’ll carry this moment with her for the rest of her life.

#⚡ my writing.#⚡ headcanons.#sorta!#a deep dive - if u will #critical role spoilers //#cr spoilers //#c3 spoilers //#and then they kissed again and they're gonna live happily ever after the end #this was inspired by those '5 times they almost kissed and 1 time they did' prompts

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