#because lord knows it’s too late for orym

[toughtinkart]

can’t get enough of the 6’ tall sexy chaos faun and her law-abiding 3’ short king.

bonus confused orym under the cut!

#critical role #critical role campaign 3 #cr c3 #fearne calloway #orym of the air ashari #fearne #orym #fearym #comics #i guess sorta idk there are speech bubbles so that counts #really i should have said ‘formerly law abiding short king’ #because lord knows it’s too late for orym #u don’t have to ship them but u do have to admit they’re hilarious and adorable #also thwre’s a non zero chance that fearne thinks all the exu group are a poly couple anyway

[stay-funky-ponyboy]

Orym shifts in the bed, curling into Fearne as much as possible. His arms stretch forward, but there is no third person here. His legs instinctively want to kick out, but he instead tucks them to fit in the ball he has curled into. Furry legs tickle him, and he tries not to think about how if he opens his eyes, he will not see his friend in front of him.

There are no legs to drape over with his own, no late night humming.

Sunlight pours onto him, and his body is aware that time has passed. He isn’t sure how much time has passed, and he doesn’t particularly want to know.

He regretfully opens his eyes. Just to confirm it. It still doesn't feel real.

Dorian left.

It was definitely morning now, but he did not feel like getting up. He has a feeling Fearne doesn't either.

Lord Eshteross was kind in letting them stay in his house. He is thankful for it, but he is not feeling great. He got so used to the three of them together.

Now, Dorian is nowhere to be found. He is on his way to Emon, and hopefully will get out of there as soon as possible.

His legs stretch out again, but it is a pointless move. Besides getting his blood flowing, it does not matter much to him at the moment.

It feels so wrong to not have him by his side.

And now, he isn't sure if he will ever come back.

A voice in his head immediately refutes that. No. He will be back. He has to come back.

He argues against it. There is no guarantee in the game of life. And sure, Dorian has been lucky and skilled in the past, but he worries.

He can't worry too much. To worry about someone who isn't even in your line of sight… it could be a death sentence.

It's a death sentence he wouldn't really mind, though. He cares for Dorian so much.

It's been so long. He thought that maybe just maybe, he might be ready to love again.

And just like that after realizing his feelings and their depth, Dorian was swept away, flying into dangerous territory.

He doesn't pray to the gods often, but he will if it ensures that they will cross paths again.

It wasn't goodbye. It was just see you later. He meant it. He will be damned if he loses someone close to him again.

The Sending stone lies right next to him on the sheets. He is tempted to use it again, but he knows Dorian and Cyrus have just likely snuck onto the ship. He needs to wait. Fearne might want to add something to their message for the day.

He sighs heavily as he turns around, to face Fearne. The small space between them feels way bigger than it appears.

As his back is exposed, he can't help but shiver. If Dorian were here-

Well. It doesn't matter. He isn't here. For now.

He looks at Fearne, who twitches, her face contorting oddly before relaxing once again. She is still sleeping.

He slides out of the bed, recognizing that his body has become alert and is not going to want to rest any longer. As much as he wishes he could just stay in bed, it's not going to happen.

Him and Fearne had gotten a room, while the others slept elsewhere. It was decided pretty quickly that the two of them needed space.

He wanted to shrug it off, because while it may be true, they all were pretty affected by Dorian's departure.

But in the end, here they are.

He wonders if anyone else is awake, somehow it is likely still pretty early, if the quietness in the house is anything to go by.

He gets dressed to a presentable degree, and pads out of the room him and Fearne are in.

Careful to avoid the traps Eshteross had laid out, he steps along the path he remembers. He manages to get down safely.

Lord Estheross is sitting in a chair, staring at the table. He doesn't look up, but he does catch the flick of an ear as he walks towards him.

He wants to say good morning, to be as polite as always, but as he opens his mouth, he finds his voice is ragged.

His throat hurts. And he feels if he speaks now, he might not say what he intends to.

He closes his mouth, just as Estheross grunts a hello to him.

“Hello, sir,” he says neutrally.

“Orym. Are you hungry?” He gestures to a rather large spread of food on the table he sits at. Orym stands on a chair to see it.

He should eat. His stomach flips as he looks at it. Estheross doesn’t seem to be eating, or maybe he had eaten earlier, and is now only drinking tea.

He settles into a chair, and stares at a plate.

“Help yourself. Please. There is enough for all of you.”

Evelyn had prepared it. All this food for eight-

Seven. Seven other people.

He takes a little bit of food, just enough that it will be sustainable. Not enough to make him feel ill. He isn’t even sure why he feels so woozy. Well. Maybe it is the idea of seeing his group- they had just come up with a name too- and seeing the empty space that looks so wrong. Even the newest friends of his can feel the emptiness.

Eshteross sighs. “Excuse me. I will be right back.”

As he hears Eshteross traverse up the stairs, he can hear a shuffling upstairs. It is distinct, and the footsteps can only belong to one Fearne Calloway.

He imagines who will get up next, after Fearne. Ashton was pretty beat up, so probably not him. They, along with Fresh Cut Grass, were beaten up pretty bad. And as upset as both of them were, their bodies need to recuperate.

Chetney seems to sleep a lot. Laudna too.

Imogen might wake up early if she has a nightmare, but he hopes she does not.

His thoughts drift aimlessly, and then he hears Eshteross return into the room. He clears his throat. Orym stands up, and turns around to see-

Estheross standing near him, with fabric in his hands.

“I had tried to give this back to him…” Estheross sighs.

It doesn't take long to realize the translucent quality to it, the floaty and flowy design. Orym gets closer.

He holds it out. "Dorian… Did not want to take this with him. I have a feeling it was important to him. Since he is not here, I do not wish to speak for him, but I think it will find better use with his friends."

Orym grabs it, half here and half somewhere else.

He doesn't take it, but Eshteross seems to understand. He lets go of it. It forces Orym to take it with both his hands.

He looks down at the folded chiffon outfit.

"I.. uh. Thank you sir," he looks up to Eshteross, who gives him a brief nod.

He grips the chiffon tightly all of a sudden. Eshteross says, "I will leave you alone. We have been through a lot. Take all the time you need."

Estheross turns and exits the room. He hears the footfalls get softer and softer, as he stares at the pageant outfit. Dorian loved this.

And so easily threw it away. Ah. That may be harsh. He may have been the best person for the job, but he could see it, it was tearing him up, just as much as it was tearing Orym up.

Probably even more. Gods. He turns to face the table, but he still stares at the chiffon outfit. It feels surreal to have it in his hands. Especially now.

While his mind is half present, he has enough sense to not tear the fabric. His hands are steady, and through the quiet hours of the new day, he closes his eyes, and breathes.

He breathes once more, and allows himself to accept this gift. It is a sort of gift, is it not?

He feels the slip of a teardrop on his face, and he doesn't wipe it away.

continue on ao3

#dorym #cr fic #critical role #i had to write something for this. okay. and def had to get this out before the next ep haha #ngl i am really proud of this one

[midground]

Ok ok, I made my “here’s how Bertrand Bell will die” post a few days ago, now here’s my “Bertrand Bell IS Travis’ C3 character and I love him” post. Because the fact of the matter is that episode 2 sold me on Bertrand. I want to see his story, and I think that his is a worthy story to tell.

Bertrand Bell wants SO BADLY to be the man he pretends to be. Beneath the bullshit and the self-aggrandizement and the shadiness played up for comedy is a man who wants to be worthy of the stories he tells about himself.

You can see it in little moments, and there’s this particular face that he makes that I’m focusing on for this post. We first see it in episode 1 when Lord Eshteross says “It has been a moment since you stained my abode with your empty bravado.”

It’s the same face that he makes when Lord Eshteross pushes him out of the way after the fight in episode 2:

And we see it again in the tavern in episode 2 when we get this little exchange:

Orym: “I got a good feeling off of Sir Bertrand...”

BB:

Orym: “...'s friend”

BB:

Bertrand wants people to believe in the persona he projects, but I think this face is the face of man who thinks he’s getting what he deserves when they don’t. He fucked up, BADLY, and recently. We don’t know how many other times Bertrand has fucked up in his years since The Search For Grog. But his most recent fuck-up reeks of cowardice, and I think Bertrand Bell KNOWS that. 

It’s too early to say whether he’s always known it, deep down, or whether he bought into his own bullshit up until now. But for all that his behavior doesn’t seem to have outwardly changed since the Search For Grog, I think C3′s Bertrand KNOWS himself to be a coward and has no more excuses to tell himself. He says NOTHING when Eshteross tells the team he abandoned his old troop. (And also, AGAIN with the FACE!)

So what is he looking for? Is it redemption? A chance to prove to himself or others that he isn’t a coward? Is he just looking to get some credibility or favor back? We know HE doesn’t think he has much time left (regardless of what the fandom thinks). Again from episode 1:

BB: “So much to take in and so little time.”

Dorian: “Very little time.”

BB, suddenly serious: Yes.

Dorian: “Hm.”

BB: “Yes.”

I think it’s too early to tell what Bertrand is really after, but what I HOPE to see is a man who wants to change his ways, maybe for the first time in almost 40 years (maybe for the first time in his life). A man who wants to EARN something, for once. If the popular fan theory is to be believed, Bertrand never earned the reputation he wore out to begin with. 

As someone who believes that people can change and that it’s never too late to start, I just really like the idea of a story about what will FINALLY cause a man like Bertrand Bell to change. Whether he even can.

Death as redemption is a very popular trope in media, and one that I really don’t like all that much. So while I joke about Bertrand Bell dying, I DON’T want him to die heroically, or find his courage in his final moments, and I especially don’t want him to die just to bring the group together. I think it will be far more interesting to see what could make Bertrand Bell become someone he himself can live with.

#critical role #c3e2 #cr meta #Bertrand Bell #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #I always liked Bertrand Bell #but I didn't expect to be drawn in by his story this much #episode 2 really sold me on him #anyway timestamps for all my sources in order: #E1: 231:34 #E2: 56:00 #E2: 86:43 #E2: 86:43 #E2: 66:25 #E1: 221:23 #also I apologize for the quality of the gifs #I don't normally do a lot of giffing #but I like to support my arguments with examples from the text