#living a legacy // vesper de rolo

[doubleimages]

@forafcrtnight for anyone / " right, so. they were out of the coffee you wanted so i just got you the same as me. hope that's okay? " they started as they sat down at the table, pushing one of the to-go cups of coffee towards the other. leaning back and taking a sip, vesper added, " now then, i have got to tell you about the stuff they have me writing about at the paper. "

#living a legacy // vesper de rolo

[troubledconstellations]

@mischiefxmuses for percy / they really weren't awake enough for this; like, they needed at least two more cups of coffee in their system before they had the energy to do anything regarding this exact assignment. why should they care about watches? if weren't considered to be unprofessional, vesper was pretty sure that, as they got up and began making their way to this watch shop, that they would be dragging their feet. taking a moment to compose themselves and pretend like this wasnt the most boring thing they'd done all week, they went inside - and was immediately greeted with the sight of a large gun hanging on the wall. okay. weird. were they in the right place? " um. hello? "

#living a legacy / vesper de rolo #vesper ft. percy

[stubborngods]

fan fact for u all: vilya and vesper are roughly the same age as beauregard (i believe they're both a few years older than beau but i could be mistaken). anyways this is just to say that theoretically they could interact with might nein or with bells hells guys with little to no issues <3

#birds of a feather // vilya vessar #living a legacy // vesper de rolo

[snowsurvive-aa]

cassandra  &  a  living  legacy

thinking  about  the  parts  of  the  lost  de  rolos  that  live  still  in  cassandra .     she  hosts  guests  like  her  mother .     she  holds  power  like  her  father .     she  does  paperwork  and  organizes  it  like  julius  did .     her  handwriting  looks  just  like  vesper’s .     she  can  be  blunt  like  the  twins .     she  has  a  streak  of  mischief  like  ludwig .     and  she  doesn’t  always  note  that  these  are  the  small  parts  of  them  that  survive  in  her ,  but  when  she  does ,  it  will  always  bring  her  pause .

#this one hurts <3 #( headcanon — 𝟎𝟎𝟑. #HEADCANON.

[azaisya]

edit: spoilers for campaign 1!! sorry i forgot

"You know," Cassandra said, even as she threw her dagger and it landed squarely in a knot on the wall, "I'm the one who got Percy his first workshop."

Vex, sitting on Cassandra's bed and fletching her arrows as the splinters rained onto the covers, looked up. "Did you?"

"I was five, I think." She flicked her wrist, and the dagger flew back to her hand, summoned by the magic bracelet Gilmore had given her last Wintercrest. "Father tried to give him a horse. I told him no, Percy would rather have the workshop that nobody's been using." Thunk. The dagger sank into the wall again.

Vex's lips twitched, amused at the mental image of Cassandra—tiny and dark-haired and belligerent—being perceptive enough and nosy enough to do that. "Did you?"

Fwip. The dagger flew back to her hand. "I did. Percy was delighted. Father already had bought the horse, of course, so I begged him for it." A slight smile flickered across her face, the merest twitch of lips otherwise flat. "He said I was too young and gave it to Vesper." Thunk. The hole in the wall deepened.

"Does Percy know about that?" Vex asked, leaning back against Cassandra's pillows so that she could pick the splinters out.

Fwip. Cassandra caught the dagger and examined its smooth silver surface. "No." Another flick of her wrist and thunk. "He never found out." Her smile vanished. "You know, you shouldn't name your children after me."

Vex's hand dropped to her stomach, which was only now beginning to show. She and Percy had so very many names they loved. Johanna, Vesper, Whitney, Elaina, Velora. Cassandra. "Oh?"

"Cassandra isn't a family name." Fwip. "My mother insisted on it, because I was the last and she’d always liked the name." Thunk. "Funny, isn't it? That Cassandra was the last and she isn't even a proper de Rolo."

Vex sat upright, eyes narrowing. "You're a de Rolo, darling. Nobody can take that from you."

Cassandra didn't say anything, blue-grey eyes locked on the dagger as it sat in the wall, quivering still from the force of her throw. At length, she said, "I am—" There was something strange in her voice, a quiet whisper of malcontent. "—just another ghost story for the de Rolo line."

Vex quietly got to her feet and came around the side of the bed where Cassandra stood, straight-backed and regal in the darkness of the room. "Something on your mind, Cass?"

Cassandra blinked once, twice, eyes opening wide as if she'd been sleeping before. Fwip. She caught the dagger with a snap of her wrist. "Nothing, really. Just— just don't. I'm not the sort of person you name children after."

Vex’s brow furrowed. She reached out, two fingers brushing lightly against Cassandra’s chin so that she could turn her face and see her eyes. There was nothing there, of course. Cassandra was good at crafting masks, and she’d only excelled in recent years as she dove further into the politics of Whitestone and the politics of her own living. “You don’t have to have a legacy to have children named after you, darling,” she said, voice gentle. “Percy and I love you very much.”

Cassandra shrugged. “It just feels like poor form, I suppose.” Her head dropped to the dagger in her hand. Her thumb darted over the edge of the hilt and flicked across the blade until dark crimson beaded across her skin. "Like bad luck."

Vex’s fingers twitched, but touching Cassandra suddenly seemed like a very poor idea. She was in a mood, as Percy, exasperated and afraid and still flinching from guilt, called them. Cassandra herself seemed aware of it and perhaps even a little sorry, but she also didn’t seem to care.

A flash of movement as the gold beads on her sleeve cuffs glittered in the firelight and thunk.

Vex stared at the blade, buried nearly to the hilt in the wall, and said with false levity, “Maybe we should go outside, Cassandra. I’ve been feeling a little cooped up.”

Cassandra’s eyes, locked on her dagger, narrowed. “Percy,” she said sharply, “doesn’t know anything.” Her shoulders dropped, eyes flicking briefly to Vex’s tense frame. “Does he?”

“He knows,” Vex said carefully, slowly, gently, “quite a bit.”

“He does.” Fwip. “He killed me, the first time.” Thunk. “You killed me the second time.”

All of Vex’s breath escaped her in a sudden rush, iron bands clamping around her heart and lungs and squeezing. She would always remember—could never forget—the moment of horror when the dark knight’s helmet had fallen off to reveal Cassandra’s white-streaked hair and glassy grey eyes.

Cassandra, now, alive and well and eyes still glassy, turned to look at Vex. “It’s strange, isn’t it? Dying and coming back again?” She held up her hand, her bracelet gleaming—

Vex’s breath shuddered, clawing at her insides and howling up out of her mouth. “I’m— I—”

Fwip.

Vex flinched.

Wordlessly, Cassandra tucked the blade into the sheath hidden in her skirts. Without looking at Vex, she collapsed onto the bed, hair billowing out behind her and curling around the half-constructed shards of Vex’s arrows.

Vex's eyes squeezed shut, and she drew in her breath in a sharp gasp. She despised herself for shooting without thinking, blamed herself for killing her sister-in-law, but—

It wasn't your fault, Percy always insisted, although he never liked to talk about it.

He didn't like to talk about Cassandra at all, really.

Too much guilt, she'd always thought, but now—

Now, looking at Cassandra lying stone-faced in the bed, she thought perhaps that it wasn't guilt at all. It was recognition.

Vex loved Percy dearly, but she knew he could be terribly, coldly, maliciously vicious if he wanted.

This was the first time she'd seen that viciousness in Cassandra.

This isn't about you, the part of Vex's brain that had always been so very perceptive whispered. "Cass," Vex said, forcing feigned lightness into her tone, "Come outside with me. We'll take a walk to the Sun Tree."

Cassandra didn't move. "You aren't listening to me." Her voice was both frustrated and plaintive, but her expression was still stone-smooth.

With false aplomb, Vex replied, "I think you're just saying things to get rid of me."

The corners of Cassandra's lips twitched, and her eyes flicked over to meet Vex's. "I see."

"Hmm. Yes, you do." Vex hesitated for just a second before sitting beside Cassandra and resting a hand on her shoulder. It was always a gamble, with her. She reacted to comfort with prickly anger just as often as she clung desperately to it. Now, though, she just stared, dark eyes narrowed. Softly, with as much love as she could, Vex whispered, "You don't have to, you know."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cassandra said blithely, but she didn't shift away from Vex's hand.

"You don't have to push us away." Vex's fingers squeezed tightly: a silent promise. "You've been wronged, and I'm—" Her breath caught once more in her chest. "—so sorry for my part in it. But we can help you fix it."

Cassandra's lips twitched again, but this time it was less of a grim smile and more of a waver. "You killed me."

Vex flinched, but she gritted her teeth and refused to move. "So let me help you."

Cassandra's eyes squeezed shut, her face contorting as her mask broke and the tears flowed over her cheeks. "Can you?" she whispered, every inch the broken girl she really was, "Is that possible for me, anymore?"

"It's always possible," Vex whispered fiercely, "It will get better."

Cassandra's eyes flew open, expression terribly raw and desperate after the unfeeling façade she'd maintained before. "How?"

"Well," Vex said, standing, "We can start by going outside." At Cassandra's doubtful expression, she shrugged her shoulders. "You'd be surprised what the sun can do for you." Her eyes flicked to the hole in the wall and she added wryly, "And then we can throw around some knives properly."

Wary and tired but hesitantly listening, Cassandra slid from the bed. "Alright. Let's go."

 (And, years later, after Cassandra learned to be comfortable with knives in her hands and warmth in her heart, Vex put the newest de Rolo, a tiny baby with tapered ears and dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes, in her arms and simply said, "Meet Cassia.")

 (Cassandra cried when she heard that, and when Cassia awoke with a squall she rocked her until she fell back asleep)

 (And that was that.)

#cassandra de rolo #vex'ahlia #critical role #critical role fanfiction #candlesfanfiction #hmmm i have a lot of feelings about cass still #and also about percy and vex naming their kids #they def are gonna name their kids after the people in their lives #(i mean percy's all but confirmed it a couple times) #but i feel like cass would have an aversion to that?? #partially bc legacy names run in her family #and partially bc she doesnt feel she deserves it #idk and just feel like #giving a quarter elf a name thats like cass' but isn't #feels like a new beginning to me #a sort of the past isnt an indicator of the future but its still important thing #idk #this is just a lot of spitballing #candleswriting #critical rolling (take one)

[dancerwrites]

legacy

(spoilers for episode 104, “Elysium”)

He’s standing with the guard, as he has been wont to do since coming to Elysium, to the Dawnfather’s kingdom. It feels appropriate for one who aspired to be a voice for Pelor, a potential champion, were his life not cut short.

Vesper stands beside him - she was always more politically minded than him in life, but few care for politics in the afterlife. So she stands sentinel, alongside him, to escort any who would approach the cathedral of the Father. 

Whitney and Oliver are harvesting, finding rest together in shared purpose, and he is glad as a soul can be that their bodies are not necessary in Elysium, for their deaths were particularly gruesome in life. He does think, though, that if they had more of their physical bodies little of the Dawnfather’s harvest would be getting in the baskets, and much more of it would be all over their clothes and the surrounding trees. 

Ludwig is a waiter, a watcher. He is one of the many who stand on the parapets of the cathedral and look heavenward, and look toward the edge of the kingdom. They see the stars when the Father’s brilliance is subdued, and they know everything that goes on.

Their parents are housed within the cathedral, in the chambers set aside for His chosen few, especially those who have given their lives for His service, or for the fight against the darkness, as he had once given His freedom and connection to the Material Plane. They have no duties - they suffered enough in their last moments, and they have been granted rest eternal.

It is Ludwig who sees them first, then, from his perch.

A party approaches, from the South, comes the murmur on the wind, for souls have no need for mouths, nor voice. A large party, with the light of Sarenrae and the Raven’s champion in tow. 

There is a ripple through the souls, not just those who have been ardently watching and following the renewal of Whitestone, and he feels Vesper’s hand on his arm, nervous tension filling the air. 

Do you think?

It certainly looks like it.

They- oh hells- comes a voice, distant, but discernible. Then a second, a mirror of the first.

Sweet Pelor, brother, you were never my favorite, but you grew up didn’t you?

If eyes existed in the afterlife, Julius would have rolled them. 

It’s them? comes a voice from behind, soft and hopeful.

The twins say it’s them, Mother, he says, letting himself believe, letting himself imagine.

Oh goodness….

They wait for long hours, until the mortals tread within sight of the castle. (And the mortals do not notice the following they have gathered, the spirits that trail them through the wood.)

The party talks with Dawnfather’s trees and are greeted by the Planars. It’s the final test, which determines whether they may approach the castle, and after long minutes, they are allowed to walk past. 

If Julius had breath, it would have caught at the splendor that they carry with them. The power they radiate that is dim in comparison to the Father himself, but brighter than any mortals who have walked through these orchards, through his forest. 

Percival is near the back, understandably awed by the scope of the cathedral before them. He sticks out, with his rich blue coat, accented with Whitestone’s colors. 

It’s him, Mother, Father, he supplies.

It is his duty as the eldest to confirm the rumors.

And she’s with him.

A ripple of affirmation comes from the fortress, as well as a choked silence, heavy with the weight of joyful tears that cannot be formed, let alone shed, answers him, and he understands. 

Percival has no eyes for faceless, nameless souls, especially while approaching an audience with the Dawnfather, which is forgivable, even though Julius can feel Vesper’s silent chant at his side: Look ‘round, Percival. Look around, please. See us… (It’s because he’s thinking the same.)

But Percy, who had been so young when the Briarwoods had come… He was older now, weathered. And it is interesting to look at his younger brother and see a face that is an age that he had never reached, that he would never reach. 

And yet, he still looks so young.

Staring up at the immense cathedral, his face would seem impassive to another, but any de Rolo studying him would see the characteristic tilt of his eyebrows, and the concern in his eyes. Percy had never been one for religion, and it showed in the worry he wouldn’t let himself show. Julius almost wants to step out, to lend him a hand, but that is not his purpose, and so he hangs back. 

The woman at Percy’s side, half a head shorter than him, her dark hair contrasting his white, her scaled armor matching his locks, reaches out to grab his hand. For a moment his attention is arrested by her, his face softening, the tension in his shoulders falling away. 

Vesper does her best to poke Julius, despite the ethereal nature they share, and he scoffs. 

I know.

That she is the Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt, is obvious. Julius had only ever met two other Mistresses of the Hunt, but this woman beside his brother had the same sharp gaze, the same regality. And there was the same look in her eyes that Julius had often seen in his mother’s while alive. A spark, a joy, when looking at him, or even around the fortress, that speaks to a special connection.

There is no way in the Nine Hells they are not betrothed, Vesper says at his side, to much discussion from the three youngest siblings. But Julius ignores them in favor of watching Vox Machina walk through the front doors, into the resplendent entryway. 

Oliver and Whitney find himself and Vesper in the crowd as the spirits start to relax, no longer standing guard quite so stiffly. They are still babbling excitedly to each other, and it is clear that the other spirits also have things to say, as the air around them feels like it’s charged with an energy they haven’t felt since the Grey Hunt. 

Ludwig sprints out of the cathedral, headed right toward them. 

You saw him? You saw him up close?

The twins let him know what he’s missed, and Julius grins at them, his attention successfully drawn from the Fortress, though Vox Machina wouldn’t be exiting for a good long while. They had never had such camaraderie in life.

(Julius supposes that is one of the best things about death - lack of sibling   rivalry.)

After a short while, two familiar silhouettes exit the golden cathedral, and the other spirits part to let them pass, giving them a direct path to where Julius is standing. The murmurs fade away around them, and he smiles to see them out and about.

(Not that they had been moping beforehand, but even ghosts can grieve the losses they suffered in life.)

Thank you, Ludwig, for the call, Frederick says, a man of as few words in death as he was in life. 

Thank you, Father.

And to see Vex’ahlia, Grand Mistress of the Hunt and his betrothed… his mother hums, her words quiet as a whisper and directed toward no single person, so they all hear it. 

Knew it, brother.

No one doubted you, Vesper, Julius points out.

It still feels good to be right.

Julius watches with the majority of his family as the light within the fortress pulses, the spirits’ whispers fading away until the only sound around them is the breeze through the trees.

They wait together, the whole crowd, for Vox Machina to leave the Dawnfather’s presence, and after a while Julius feels his father’s hand on his shoulder.

Julius turns, memories of life filling him as he remembers talks about ruling Whitestone one day and what he needed to know.

It is good to be here with so many of you, Frederick murmurs, and Julius knows the words are only between them. 

It is, Father, he agrees, looking up as the light at the top of the tower pulses brighter, and then looking around at his siblings, who also had their attentions captured by the brilliance above them. 

It is good to see how far he had come, even without the rest of them.

And as they watch Vox Machina step out of the Fortress doors, Vex’ahlia now shining with the radiance of a star as the Dawnfather’s champion, Julius watches Percival’s tread, steadier, his hand still intertwined with hers. While he knows not why their journey to Elysium was necessary, he is glad for it, and the knowledge that Exandria is in good hands.

#critfic #critical role #the de rolo family #julius de rolo #finally finished #and feat. endings that i'm not 100% sure of #but julius is sure so that's something #i love writing for the de rolos #like #a lot #tagged #my writing

[doubleimages]

@daydrcamings for elouise / they tapped their pen against their the edge of their journal rhythmically, a pattern that only they could hear. this article simply wasn't speaking to them, but they had to write it - there was genuinely nothing vesper could do but write it, at this point... but why, of all things, did they have to write about the fact that the humane society had won a world record for the number of dogs in bandanas gathered in one place? did anyone actually care about that? vesper sighed, tossing their pen and journal onto the table in front of them. glancing up, they blink in surprise at the sudden presence of someone at the end of their table. " uh, can i help you? "

#living a legacy // vesper de rolo #vesper ft. elouise

[stubborngods]

vesper elaina de rolo

critical role canon character; played by lola tung; school of enchantment wizard/alchemist artificer multiclass; child of percival and vex'ahlia de rolo; older sibling of wolfe, leona, vax'ildan, & gwendolyn de rolo. portrayal includes multiple canon verses:

dont look at me ill do them later

#living a legacy // vesper de rolo

[stubborngods]

@storiesbreathed asked: for  a  happy  starter . gwen & vesper!

a loose giggle slipped from vesper's mouth as they reached out to swipe a bit of frosting from the tiefling's face. they weren't even sure where gwen had acquired any sort of frosting - as far as vesper know, their sister had been home with them all day long, and no one had been to the slayer's take today or yesterday to get any frosted sweets. " gwendolyn zahra melanie von musel de rolo, " they got out with another half-laugh, still grinning as they take in her disheveled appearance. honestly, how did gwen even get frosting on her ear? " how in the world did you get like this? did you take some cookies, and, if so, why didn't you share? "

#living a legacy // vesper de rolo #vesper ft. gwen #more sibling bonding!! #they are committing crimes (giving gwen a sugar high before perchalia get home)

[stubborngods]

@storiesbreathed asked: for an action / adventure starter . leona & vesper!

when their sister had burst into the family workshop to demand beg ask for their immediate attention elsewhere, vesper almost told leona to go away. except they were better than that - and they didn't quite feel like a lecture from their mother about how they needed to be nicer to their siblings even when they were busy, and this experiment wasn't going to finish itself - which was exactly why they were currently being dragged across the grounds of whitestone keep and into the forest beyond. " leo, where are we going? i thought this was supposed to be important. " they couldn't even see the keep behind them anymore. vesper longed to be back downstairs in the workshop more and more with every step they took. " you do know where we're going, right? "

#living a legacy // vesper de rolo #vesper ft. leona #sibling bonding hours fr #ves is going to teach leona how to make exploding potions one day but that day is NOT today #how old are they here? idk you decide jghfj

[stubborngods]

oh, by the way!! i don't think i've said this before but i do have classes for vesper and vilya!! - ves is an enchantment wizard with a few levels in artificer (alchemist subclass) because somebody has to be the healer in this group goddammit. and also they learned to make molotovs and no one has been safe since <3 - vilya is an arcane trickster rogue with like three levels in ranger (monster slayer subclass) just because she begged vex to teach her to use a bow. the arcane trickster part is mostly just because i think vilya deserves weird fucked up magic i don't know exactly what level they are but they're at least high enough to multiclass (and pick subclasses in each class) so they're at the very least lvl 6?? anyways! pls enjoy my unhinged thoughts

#living a legacy // vesper de rolo #birds of a feather // vilya vessar

[stubborngods]

vesper de rolo is a humanoid in my brain but only like, in the most base sense of the term. they're human. they're also some weird divine child. kind of like an aasimar. probably pelor associated? i dunno, don't have completely coherent thoughts about it quite yet but i feel like the fact that vex was definitely pregnant during the whole pelor trial thing has got to have some weird effects on vesper. the parallels of the oldest and youngest de rolo children not being quite human heart eyes.

#living a legacy // vesper de rolo

[doubleimages]

Come back and pick me up. (from archie andrews) / @forafcrtnight

vesper snorted aloud, propping their phone between their shoulder and their ear as they shifted their apartment keys to the other hand to unlock the door. dropping their bag by the door and moving into the kitchen, they set the phone on the counter and turned the speakerphone on, saying, " you're a grown man, archie. you can get home on your own, i'm sure. "

#living a legacy // vesper de rolo #vesper ft. archie

[troubledconstellations]

@rainbowmuses for thorin / vesper blinked, slowly. they were fairly certain that whatever the man was doing was far above their own pay grade, but they were getting paid to hang out with dogs today so who, really, were they to complain? stepping into the shelter, they wandered over to thorin and reached out to tap him on the shoulder. " hi, are you... " vesper glanced down at their phone, checking, " ... thorin? "

#living a legacy / vesper de rolo #vesper ft. thorin

[troubledconstellations]

@lcngliive for keyleth / " excuse me? " the little bell above the door rung out as they pushed it open, glancing briefly around the interior of the shop as to figure out where any of the workers were. they'd gotten to actually pick their own assignment this go around, not being forced to wait until the very end and getting the worst ones, and they'd wanted to write about plants. ... plus all the house plants in their apartment were standing on their last legs and they maybe needed to get something easier to take care of. wandering further into the store, they called out again, " hello? does anyone work here? "

#living a legacy / vesper de rolo #vesper ft. keyleth

[troubledconstellations]

@wvsteria for mia / they tapped their pen against their the edge of their journal rhythmically, a pattern that only they could hear. this article simply wasn't speaking to them, but they had to write it - there was genuinely nothing vesper could do but write it, at this point... but why, of all things, did they have to write about the fact that the humane society had won a world record for the number of dogs in bandanas gathered in one place? did anyone actually care about that? vesper sighed, tossing their pen and journal onto the table in front of them. glancing up, they blink in surprise at the sudden presence of someone at the end of their table. " uh, can i help you? "

#living a legacy / vesper de rolo #vesper ft. mia