"I reached out a lot." "I know." "But you still got me through."

Orym for the rest of the campaign probably

He is never going to be able to sleep in peace again

I love Dorian's reaction to the argument over the sword because, on the one hand, it would have been possible to expect he'd rather Orym not have the sword, given their previous dalliance with a dubious magical item. Even the suggestion it could be a similar situation might have put him on edge and he may have agreed with Laudna that Orym shouldn't have it--for his own protection. After all, isn't that exactly what Orym did for him so long ago with the circlet?

But more importantly--the last time Orym was up in the dead of night threatening a party member, it was Dorian he was threatening. And they just talked about this incident earlier in the episode. Orym's retrospective on it was much more melancholy than Dorian's--he's sees a version of himself that so full of shiny, bright, untested moral conviction, and feels foolish considering all the things he's done since then. But Dorian looks back on that moment and sees that Orym saved him that night. That Orym was right. That Orym would not threaten a member of the party for no good reason. And especially with the knowledge that the sword sucks, but is not actually evil the way the circlet was, the entire situations seems suddenly so fucking pointless. It's just a sword. Yeah, it's killed a lot of people, but come on. It's not sentient, it's not cursed, it's just bloody. Dorian seen a real cursed item, and the way it ripped people apart. This sword is nothing in comparison. And the attempt to steal something from a party member that was not actually a threat to anyone walks over the line of Dorian's own moral codes, which are deeply tied to putting your friends first over anything. He has a very unique perspective on the situation and I also think he's largely right--it's just a thing. It's history doesn't shape us. Our actions do. And Laudna's actions were wrong, regardless of intention.

Liam:He doesn't think that Dorian returns any feelings.

Robbie:

One thing I loved about the scene between Orym and Dorian on the balcony is that Orym has taken so much upon himself to try and protect the Hells and protect the world. He's the one member of the group they all pretty much unanimously agree is a stable, grounded person, something Ashton has acknowledged as putting a great deal of unfair pressure on Orym. He made the deal with Nana Morri to try and get more power to keep his friends safe. As Liam described it in 4-Sided Dive he's trying to act as a shield for the whole of Exandria.

And what does Dorian tell him after they talked about the time Orym stopped him from taking the Circlet of Barbed Vision and how that ultimately saved him? "You can't protect everyone all the time." Dorian makes the point that while Orym did help him back then, he was also able to handle himself in the weeks they were separated, and Orym also needs to allow himself the buoying support of his companions sometimes. He doesn't need to always be the stable protector he's been trying to be for the rest of the group.

And at that assertion that he doesn't need to be strong all the time, at least for Dorian, Orym lets himself cry.

honey, you got a big storm comin

Orym's whole character arc has been about working through grief and finding closure. That scene in the rain in the last episode was beautiful and heartbreaking but also so incredibly *hopeful*. Taking hold of an instrument of grief and destruction and loss and turning it toward being a weapon of justice. Under the blessing of rain, of *tears*, from Melora.

Putting that weight on his back, like he has shouldered so much else, and the Wildmother helping him lift it just a little. Then Dorian telling him that he doesn't have to do *everything*, to save *everyone*.

I think maybe, finally, there's a glimmer of the potential of a future in our little halfling's eye.

catching up on critrole (i'm only on ep 87 no spoilers pls!) and when FCG used banish during the fight in the street my immediate thought for some reason was 'wouldn't it be funny if the people on the moon are there because that's where you go when you're banished'.

now i can't stop thinking about it.

How it started:

How it's going:

Dorian & Orym, Episode 95

THE ERAS TOUR - Stockholm, Sweden N1

THE ERAS TOUR - Stockholm, Sweden N1

As someone who absolutely despises conflict and bad communication in my real life, can I just say fictional drama in a safe space is sooo tasty. Laudna and Orym were absolutely having two completely different conversations, and Laudna's half of it was poisoned by Delilah.

And then Chetney stepped in and I thought, thank god, because Travis is so good at playing him as the unexpected voice of reason. But then his "compromise" was for Orym to keep the TraumaBlade2000 and for Laudna to feed Delilah a different source of power and y'all...my heart dropped.

You know what else Chetney loves to do? Test people he doesn't trust. He's done it many times to NPC's, sometimes provoking them to see how they treat people under them, other times questioning them to see where their motivations really lie. Here he tested Laudna's motivations. If she really feared Otohan's blade was cursed, if she really just wanted to get it away from Orym and have it destroyed...or if she wanted more power for herself (Delilah).

And she chose to take the separate source of power and leave Orym with Ishta.

Above the table, I think Laudna was doing this in a half-dazed state, choosing the easy way out of the conflict, still partially under Delilah's influence - magical or not. But in-game that's not the message that got across to Chetney. He saw her choose power over concern for her friends. What he is going to do with that knowledge I don't know, but am very excited to see.

I...I just think that maybe you're not sure of your own feelings, yet. And if there's something that you need to tell Eddie, you will. Just, in your own time.