#orym meta

[sparring-spirals]

I know people have already been gushing about this Orym and Ashton convo but I'm going to keep gushing about it because. Its so good. Ashton talks big talk about being shitty with people and being clueless and rude and- you know, maybe sometimes that's true.

But other times Ashton gets it perfectly dead on, navigates around sore spots and deflections and potentially patronizing assurances with things that just. Ring true. They tell Laudna, not just "you dont owe us anything for our efforts to bring you back" but, "we wanted you back, so really, we were helping ourselves". He sees a shaky Orym haul himself away for a quiet moment after an awful few days and follows. Sits down next to him, in the quiet. Tells him- not that it's going to be fine, not that Orym is good and is the best of them and he'll be able to do it, to steer them singlehandedly to safe waters.

Instead he tells him that- shit has been awful, hasn't it. Just a fucking lot, kind of a nightmare. These people- lovely, absolute messes, a lot to handle. Mentions their own admiration for Orym, sure but- it's not the point of this. Talks about their own introspection, uses it to lead into- I'm sure you know to ask for help, if you need it. And you very well might, I'm sure, we're all pretty fucked up here. You're not infallible, I know. I've got a shoulder here, if you need one to lean on.

Ashton tells him, in an easygoing, self deprecating kind of way, minimal pressure. You are human, you are fallible, I know, and I respect you anyway. Respect you because of it. But you're doing good anyway. You'll do good even if you need help.

"As someone who has professionally been left behind- you're doing a good job."

"You should maybe take care of yourself a little bit, before you end uo being the one to toss us off the side of a ship."

(It'll do us good, if you ask for it when you need it.)

And then Orym- respecting the personal space, respecting the pain and the touch. Opening up! Sharing that weight! Respecting the vulnerability shown with his own. Talking about his own fears, his own unsureness, the ways that the Bells are sometimes the only thing keeping him going- not just the other way around. Giving Ashton a hug, apologizing for the double edged sword of the pain, treating all the vulnerability with the lightness Ashton delivered it with.

Ashton, saying "It's good to be appreciated".

Orym, on a quiet deck, still all that weight on his shoulders, but someone next to him, seeing it, reminding him to share it when he can.

(He's not the only one built to take hits, anymore.)

[lauranthalasah]

The PCs that were reached by their gods were clerics, at least the ones we've seen, no?

I imagine paladines are gonna get a call too.

I wonder if the Wildmother will reach Orym, he isn't a paladin, I don't want him to be one, and yet she seems to have a soft spot for him since EXU.

It's so interesting how Liam went "little guy, just a guard, even the trauma in his past is collateral of other characters", and EXU team was "you are kinda our leader", Aabria was like "the Wildmother will speak to you in the softest voice I can muster", Hells Bell's also went "our leader" route (or co-leader at least), and Matt went "the Wildmother actually will upgrade your sword so you don't have to change it for another more useful". There's new people in their group, and they are already looking up to him... just because he is reasonable and measured!! Fucking amazing!!

No matter how hard Liam tries to make Orym part of the wall, Orym has to come front and center time and time again, simply cause he is too damn kind!

[iatethepomegranate]

Matthew Mercer, Will, and Player/Character Needs in C3e34

Now that I've typed out the Will/Orym scene including Matt's narration, I have feelings. Namely, how Matt used this scene to satisfy player and character needs in a situation where there was potential for the two to conflict. I will also probably ramble about Will as a character in another post because he fascinates me more with every piece of info we get about him.

Obviously, spoilers for c3e34 are here.

We're at a stage in the game where no one's stories are really complete. Once the decision is made to resurrect a character and the roll succeeds, it then becomes Matt's job to weave a satisfactory scene for a player/character in a way that allows their story to continue, while respecting the way that character is feeling in the moment.

With Ashley/Fearne, Matt didn't have to give her too much. Fearne is a creature of whim and everyone she loves is alive, as far as we know. Matt did offer a confusing and even a little scary peek of an afterlife for her, which Fearne naturally rejected.

Liam/Orym needed more. Because clearly Liam wanted Orym's story to continue, but Orym died with a heavy sense of failure and defeat. And he was clearly hoping to see Will and Derrig again. He had very valid reasons to throw in the towel.

Orym knew that he needed to go back, but he was so torn between a task he was carrying out for the sake of his loved ones, and between getting to stay with them (Will and Derrig both) after having lost them under horrific, violent circumstances that still haunt him to this day.

So, what did Matt do? He gave Liam the tragic reunion scene, knowing he would eat it right up, but he didn't stop at Will telling Orym to go back.

He had Will choose for him.

In sparing Orym from that heartbreaking decision, Liam is able to continue this story. Would Orym have chosen to go back if he'd had to make the choice himself? Probably, especially if Will was still telling him to.

But Orym has been through a lot, and I imagine Liam and Matt discussed at length the balance between what Orym's narrative needed vs what Orym himself needed as a character. Orym needed to be pushed (i.e. lovingly tossed) by the very person whose death put him on this path to begin with.

As a result, we can already see Orym rallying himself, digging deep to give himself and the Hells fresh motivation and drive to keep pushing onward. He was quite assertive in the remainder of the episode, offering up huge solutions (let's go Kiki!) and even stepping in to threaten Treshi when their designated intimidator fell short.

Is it all sunshine and rainbows for Orym from here? Of course the fuck not. But this decision to have Will take charge in that scene and do what would have shattered Orym to do has not only allowed his story to continue, but to do so in a way that galvanises him.

I also foresee Orym potentially opening up to the rest of the Hells about Will in the not-too-distant future, especially since he's indicating feeling kinship with Imogen over the way she's feeling and acting about Laudna's (hopefully fixable) death.

[mysticalspiders]

The song “Color Him Father” on Orym’s exu playlist always puzzled me. It felt like something we hadn’t quite gotten to in Orym’s story but I couldn’t figure out in what way, especially since Liam wrote that “some of the specifics might be off here, but the sentiment of this song is right.” I had settled on the song reflecting Orym’s dad friend energy and general found family vibes. 

But “He Did” by Anaïs Mitchell on Orym’s second playlist makes it clear that something is up with Orym and his father or maybe a father figure. Liam wrote “Following his footsteps.”

In exu Orym said “Didn’t really have a dad in life. I did have a dad but he just kind of rolled on. His name, last name, was Tarrintel.” The phrasing here is very unclear, who Orym’s father was. What exactly does “rolled on” mean here? Did his father leave or did he die?

“But you grew up straight and you grew up true He kept a blue-gray eye on you Until the day he closed his eyes and left them closed Your daddy didn't leave a will He left a shovel and a hole to fill.”

“Color Him Father” is about finding a father figure who isn’t your father by birth.

“I think I'll color this man father I think I'll color him love Said I'm gonna color him father I think I'll color the man love, yes I will”

With the context of “Color Him Father” I wonder if this father figure in Orym’s life could be Derrig. Liam wrote that “Orym and Will grew up together.” He also wrote that “by the time we sat down to play our Dalen’s Closet one shot with Vox Machina, Orym as you know him was already waiting in the wings,” implying that Derrig could have an important part in Orym’s story. Could this mean that Derrig was a father figure in Orym’s life from a young age? In this context could “He Did” be about Derrig. We don’t know if Derrig is still alive. Does Orym want to follow in Derrig’s footsteps? Does he want to follow in his father’s footsteps, and if so, what were those footsteps? Are these two songs about the same people? There is something in these two songs that I want to tease out. 

[tiredqueermushroom]

Seedling, the Wayward Pilgrim has so many layers in it's meaning.

The most obvious being, how it directly describes Orym, a seedling young and on a new journey filled with so much potential. On this journey to bring justice to his husband, his father, and ultimately save the world but its worth it just to see them again.

It could also be in reference to Dorian and his relationship to him. Dorian, who is also on a journey of his own, tries to do himself a justice by exploring the world that was kept from him. Their relationship being new and young, which holds a lot of potential to grow into something beautiful as it makes a home for itself.

It's all about growth and how much left there is to go. And how beautiful they'll be once they return home.

[sparring-spirals]

Love Orym immediately sizing up every single person they meet and assessing their threat levels. *remembers backstory and character reasons for doing this* *with significant pain* Love Orym immediately sizing up every single person they meet and assessing their threat levels.

[sparring-spirals]

where's my fuckin post about Orym being potentially MORE terrifying than the rest of the party bc hes just A Dude but then he starts moving towards you in the most elegantly deadly way possible and you're like Oh Fuck

edit: i found it

[sparring-spirals]

while this battle rages on im still thinking about the image of orym, in the dead of night, during his watches, wracked with worry and fear, the weight of the world on his shoulders. trying his best to coax a wolf out of a hunk of wood. a poorly carved wolf, wobbly lines and ugly strokes, aspiring to clean lines and smooth curves, like a carved moon, a gift with hundreds of years of wisdom behind it. a shittily carved wolf, paltry in comparison, but- it was meant as a gift. it was meant as a gift. it was only three quarters done, a crude interpretation of a wolf, and it was held aloft- this was supposed to be a gift! for you!