#head empty only essek

[rainbowcaleb]

a dinnertime distraction

happy thanksgiving! I love you critical role fandom <3 here's something from my table to yours today :)

“Is applesauce a soup?”

Caleb considered this, gently putting the half peeled potato and knife onto the table, and leaned back in his chair. 

“Let’s give the thought an unravel. Is it a liquid?”

Luc propped his elbows on the table, an action that once was a big reach now a little easier after a growth spurt. “Yeah. A chunky liquid, but so is soup.”

Caleb moved his finger in the air to mimic a check mark. “Can you eat it with a spoon?”

“It’d be stupid to eat with a fork!” Luc laughed. “Forks can’t slurp.”

Caleb checked again. “But is it hot?” 

Luc stuck out his tongue. “That’d be so gross, hot applesauce, it’s not ‘sposed to be hot, its too— wait, wait, is that pie?” 

“Is apple pie hot apples?” Caleb fought against his smile, trying to keep the teacherly demeanor going.

“Duh! Or like maybe sorta hot apples if you leave it in the window too long and forget about it.”  

“If applesauce is hot, or lukewarm,” Caleb reached out to tap Luc’s nose. “Is it a soup?”

“Yeah!” Luc clapped on the table. “Totally! Oh, is apple pie a soup?”

Caleb shrugged. “What do you think?”

Luc pushed off from the table, making the potato wobble in place, and ran back where he came from, yelling into the kitchen. “Apple pie is soup! Apple pie is soup!” 

Caleb stifled his laughter into his cardigan sleeve, mischief bubbling over anyways. It wasn’t more than a minute later when Veth poked her head around the doorframe. 

“What did you tell my son?” She glared at Caleb. “You’re worse than Jester! We were eating salad with only a spoon for a week ‘cause she convinced him it’s cereal!”

“Whatever works to make him eat his greens.” He smiled serenely, the very picture of a wise sage on the mountain. 

Veth wasn’t fooled and jabbed her fingers at him. “All those potatoes better be peeled soon, young man. If you have time for shenanigans you have time to help me make dinner.”

“Meine gute Freundin, there’s always time for shenanigans.” Caleb flicked his hands in the air, a muttered word under his breath, and the potato lifted in the air without him touching it. 

“Damn right there is.” Veth grinned. “However I’m starving and Beau is shockingly horrible with a knife and I don’t trust Fjord anywhere near the silverware in case he takes a bite and swallows again. I’m relying on you Caycay.”

Caleb held up a hand in salute, then grabbed the potato peeler again. 

Veth looked him over, a thought pinching her brow. “You want company? I could send Essek in after he finishes the onions with Caduceus.”

The potato peeler almost skipped a beat towards a finger tip rather than potato skin. “Ah, well, if the point is alacrity perhaps don’t send a distraction my way?” 

Veth smiled and Caleb knew his mistake immediately. 

“So Essek is a distraction huh. Hot boi would distract you from your potato duties. So you do have a little crushypoo like Jester said.”

“No, Veth, I didn’t say—“

His words fall into empty air as Veth skipped back into the kitchen, calling Essek’s name with far too much glee in her voice.

[critter-genfic-events]

Character Studies

This week, we have ten character studies recs - deep dives into main characters and side characters alike. Check them out beneath the cut, and let the authors know if you like them!

the beauty and the mess by batyatoon (2887,Not Rated) Warnings: None Pairings:

A long day at Whitestone Castle, waiting for Scanlan to wake up or for his friends to come back.

Reccer says: A great look at Kaylie in episodes 84 and 85, brutal and truthful and excellent in all the ways that hurt. (one of the tags is "everything's funny until it isn't" and it and this story live in my head rent-free.)

let's pick the truth we believe in by burningdarkfire (28108,Teen) Warnings: Implied/Referenced Abuse Pairings: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, Astrid Beck & Eadwulf Grieve & Caleb Widogast

Astrid kills Trent while the Nein are in Aeor. Caleb returns to Rexxentrum to make some peace with his past and make some sense of his future.

Reccer says: Very emotionally complex and beautiful writing

that i live (and you are gone) by DesertLily (2183,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Keyleth/Vax’ildan, Keyleth & Vox Machina, Keyleth & Essek Thelyss

Keyleth’s perspective on the deaths of each member of Vox Machina as she outlives them all.

Reccer says: I liked it

afterimage by saturdaysky (2858,Teen) Warnings: Pairings: Deirta Thelyss & Essek Thelyss

The Umavi receives an unexpected petitioner seeking solace from grief. As ever, Deirta provides clarity. As ever, Essek chafes at the impossible.

Reccer says: It shows both Essek and his mother as extremely complicated characters, and is a fun dive into what living several lifetimes might do to a person

A single lonesome toll by dadrielle (snappilier) (3715,Teen) Warnings: very vague reference to suicidal ideation (in line with imogen's reference to it in canon) Pairings:

Character study of Bells Hells centered around their relationships with loneliness and how coming together changes that

Reccer says: I liked it

Eadwulf Grieve Is Dead! by tangereen (1112,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: listed gen first, but also Eadwulf Grieve/Essek Thelyss, Clarabelle Clay & Eadwulf Grieve, Astrid Beck & Eadwulf Grieve

Eadwulf Grieve is legally declared dead and struggles to figure out what that means for his future and life.

Reccer says: Wulf gets to stick it to Ickythong.

The Cut of His Jib by Nenia458 (6544,Teen) Warnings: Choose not to Warn, PTSD Pairings: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia, Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Critical Role), Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Vax'ildan, Vax'ildan & Vex'ahlia (Critical Role)

Along the treacherous route to a job, Vax (1) does not stab Percy for flirting with his sister (2) successfully stabs a pirate (3) learns something about their gunslinger that fundamentally changes his opinion of the man.

Reccer says: This is the perfect Percy, to me

With no Lapidary by Operafloozy (960,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

Ashton's hair requires a little extra work to take care of - much like the genasi himself

Reccer says: It takes a simple fact about Ashton - that their hair is a rock, and then thinks through what that might mean for them throughout their life.

Tenderness to You is Only Talk About a Bruise by thetickingclock (1439,Teen) Warnings: body dysphoria Pairings: Kingsley Tealeaf & The Mighty Nein

Mollymauk had woken up empty, but Kingsley is full to the bursting. It is so easy to be alive. It is hard, sometimes, to understand how much they love him. It is harder still, to let them.

Reccer says: The language is amazing, and the view of an Kingsley's extremely early days - learning who he might be among the nein is extremely evocative

Caesura by kinosternon (1486,Mature) Warnings: anxiety, alcohol/drug mention, canon-typical violence Pairings:

Scanlan dreams that one of Vox Machina has died.

Reccer says: The fic was written around episode 73 of the Vox Machina campaign and perfectly encapsulates Scanlan's state of mind in those late Chroma Conclave episodes. You can feel the break coming. Insightful and heartbreaking.

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

We'll be starting off the next year with Vax! Maybe something celebrating his de-orbing?

Then, it'll be Reunions, Nott/Veth and Sendings!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

If you're looking for some more, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[noxspost]

A soft and bitter moment

Herbert walks slowly as he pulls a small metal wagon, a shovel in one hand the handle in the other. He looks around as the fog swirls in thick and viscous way. He never thought to watch his back as he digs with the shovel. The wagon had food and a body bag with some incense sticks. He smiles as he strikes gold. A dead body, they were in the roaring Mountain. The geode marsh between him. A task he has to do.

He doesn't pay attention as matt walks over and they both dig up the bones and then placing the body ans bones 3 feet and not six. The plants need to eat and if they are 6ft how can they feed the plants? He is helped by the ground as his magic ignites. The geometric pattern sprouts from his finger tips and up to his forearm. The ground gives way easier as he digs deeper and then pulling the partially remaining skeleton. bone by bone. Matt is in awe of the colors that dance in his head as they work.

They sit between the redug grave as they stick incenses to do some spells the man they buried "what is the name?" Asked Matt as Jeremy drinks the blood he was handed by Matt "he is old man caleb, the wizard who took down trent."

"The bones?" Questions Jeremy "oh a man I dont remember since caduces never bother to tell me." Herbert answers as he lights the sticks

"No flowers and he keeps the names of each person and the place and date in his brain and in a book." Matt adds as he pulls out his beer "may caleb find peace and ciao!" he then pours out a offering beside the sticks as the mist was as thick as the fog making the massive circle of empty space around them.

"Caleb what?" Jeremy asked as he sips the dog blood "widogast, the husband to the somber essek who gave us the money and task to bury his husband 'em." Herbert says "caleb brave man. You could tell him that and yet he would tell you not to even suggest such a thing. I met him once and I told him I could make sure the residuum out of his skin."

"Skin!?" Spoke Jeremy as he drops his drink "yep the guy named Trent shoved it in his skin." Answered Herbert and he then said "I saw my cousin's hole in flames after he got the rot out and that is only time I saw him that enraged."

Matt nods "right i was in the Kryn dynasty with my mum when the war of light and dust happened. Mum died in battle and I got separated from my family. Dad got killed in a land dispute." He drinks the beer "Jeremy do you have anything you want to talk about?" Adked Herbert "jean is my dad and he was a kind but distance man. He tried being there never faulted me for the distance, I got to see him once a day for yule each year and he would tell me all about the places he went."

"That is good." Spoke Matt as they see caduceus in the fog walking from the solid fog "did you bury my friend now? I saw the incense smoke and felt caleb on the wind."

"Yep." Answers Herbert "then I shall send for the rest of the nien."

"We'll shall see them soon." Jeremy cheerfully says as caduceus brings the tea. They sing Ai vist lo lop which had Jeremy listening to the music and singing.

[quinn-of-aebradore]

@glossolali two for you!!! criminal AU I've done once here, so I'll put the snippet for that under a cut :3

home again, home anew is my long-time languishing "the wizards move in together after Aeor" fic. I started it probably a year and a half ago now and it's been a while since I've worked on it. M9 Reunited kinda jostled my plans and it's been tricky finding an angle to return to it with.

I don't think I've shared this little bit yet:

“This one is mine,” Caleb rapped on the door of the room farthest right. “And this is yours,” he stepped to the next door and opened it, gesturing for Essek to enter. He did, trying hard not to be awkward and hover. It had been fine up to that point but this was where he’d been staying. This room would be his. In the tower, such a thing wasn’t so hard to accept. That was an extradimensional space, technically temporary, rebuilt each time Caleb cast it. This was real, would remain here once twenty-four hours had gone by. The bed sat along the inner wall shared with Caleb’s room, a comforter spread neatly across it with a quilt folded at the foot. Three pillows rested at the head, looking in need of fluffing. The nightstands were bare and the wardrobe sat open and empty. “It’s not the tower but…” Caleb trailed off and Essek knew that sheepish smile of his was adorning his face. He turned and there it was. A soft one was offered in kind. “It’s lovely, Caleb. Thank you.” To his surprise, Caleb stepped forward and took his head in his hands. Pressed a kiss to his forehead then rested his against it. “Of course, Essek. You will always be welcome here.”

WIP Title Ask Game

As for the fake dating criminal AU...

To his credit, Oremid Haas’s office isn’t nearly as ostentatious as the rest of the Halls of Erudition. Earth tones and wood dominate the space and one wall is covered in wildlife photographs. “I always find it fascinating how the Assembly adorn their sanctums,” Widogast comments as the two of them enter, fingers skimming over the edge of a copper rabbit statuette. “I suppose I see the intrigue,” Essek wanders along one wall, idly picking up a piece of obsidian carved into a shark. After a moment’s consideration, he pockets it. “Have you robbed many of the Assembly, then?” Widogast snorts. “Not quite.” “Vague.” “I can’t give up all my secrets, Schatz.” Essek turns. “What have I said about endearments?” it’s a little playful and he can feel his cheeks turn plum again. “Technically, you only said I cannot call you Liebling.” With a sigh, Essek leans against the edge of Haas’s desk and meets Widogast’s gaze. “Let’s find this book, shall we?”

[atlasarcana]

echo bren, act 2 fic 1 snippet (since it's been a while!)

Sydenstar 3, 839 P.D.

He arrives in Ank’harel a few days prior to the ceremony, thinking himself a good student for taking the time to scout. He gets a towel and an empty glass in his hands as a reward.

Bartender work. Well — there’s nothing wrong with scouting in disguise, in fairness. And it is a quick way to learn the clientèle. To overhear conversation and catch words where they escape secrets. More than anything, to make notes.

He spends three days bored out of his mind wiping down the wet bar of a long and golden casino room. He takes orders, he compliments the early-arriving guests. Technically on duty as Volstrucker (though when the duty ever ends is beyond him), he marks easy targets for cornering and conversation. A noblewoman here and there touches his collar too closely, champagne too heavy on her breath, and he takes her to the back room to see the estate wines, of course, and peeks into her mind — only a gentle folding back of paper, not a terrible knife-intrusion — and pockets the rumors and the drivel for himself before spinning her back out to the main bar without a break in charisma.

Twice he escorts a drunk out of the bathrooms. Thrice he rips down Missing posters nailed up in search of some halfling boy.

They smoke a great deal here in Ank’harel. That was the one thing he wasn’t expecting. On a mandated smoke break — a perk he ought to campaign to Ikithon — he steps out onto the great big flat white patios overlooking the great big flat fucking lake of a pool in between the buildings on either side of the property, and gets struck with the thought of diving in from the third storey. Which would be silly, and maybe suicidal, and he does not trust himself to know the difference. The white sun is a ball of eternity in the radioactive blue sky, and every shadow it casts grows long and crisp against all the other pale clay surfaces in a way that reminds him distinctly of ink on parchment. Out here on this patio, a hundred feet from the ground with layers of sandstone between himself and anything that makes a sound, he suddenly feels suffocatingly alone. The property is smack in the center of the Sand-Herald district, which is where all the money and noise is, and yet the two palaces of the resort are such tall, bright, architectural knives that the thousands of civilians beneath him are more like ants than anything. He could shut his eyes and only hear the birds and the breathing swell of the city. The slow, industrial chugging. A far-off clang. A distant splash as someone falls unceremoniously from the diving board.

Days like this made the rest tolerable. But days like this would end. And he would wake up somewhere new again, with another sin tallied under his name somewhere by an accountant in the Nine Hells.

He’s lost in thought for a while until a seagull lands by his feet. Quite a bit out from any ocean here, friend. Though, upon closer inspection, it isn’t a seagull — it’s just a white desert pigeon. Pretty little thing. And clearly, Nicodranas is still in his head if he first went to seagulls. He doesn’t fault himself for it; he doesn’t remember the last time he had so much vacation sex. Or a vacation at all.

Bren stares at the pigeon. He inches closer. He stoops.

On a whim, he uses the hand that isn’t holding a cigarillo to swish Sending into the air.

“Beloved,” he says, staring straight at the bird. “My goodest and greatest and sweetest friend.” He pauses. “Food. Ank’harel. Recommendations?”

He knows what he gives with this information. It is possibly the most treasonous thing he has done in years, and in as little as a word. But he cannot find himself to care.

The bird cocks his head at him. For a long moment, the spell doesn’t seem to take.

Then, the receiver picks up the line: Essek’s voice spins in his head.

Ank’harel… says the Shadowhand, very slowly and direly, as though still digesting his morning evil on the other side of the world.

The bird twitches its head this way and that. Essek’s voice could be speaking through it if Bren tried to overlap them in his mind. He experiments with the idea, squinting.

Well. Anything but a kurrak fruit, says Essek.

Essek-Birdy moves its head in a way that could look offended, and, oh, yes. It is quite funny.

They say it tastes like mango.

Liars. Curs. More like rotten eggs.

Avoid. At all costs.

Essek-Birdy pap-paps its feet on the ground. Pecks at Bren’s boot, thinking it a big brown worm. At the illusory-to-physical difference between a bartender’s boot and a Volstrucker’s boot, the bird spasms with perplexity. Then it flies away.

No kurrak fruits. Well, alright. At least that was one insider fact he hadn’t wormed out by sleeping with the Essek of another timeline. Bren puffs his cigarillo and throws it into the midden by the door.

He’d normally throw it over the side of the building, but he fears the bird picking at it later. He goes inside.

[ravendruid]

trick or treat!!!

Send me Trick or Treat for a treat <3 Hi! I created this little headcanon for you just now. Enjoy. Part of this AU.

Caleb meets Essek for the first time in the school library. The building is still pretty much empty since it’s only the first day of classes, so Caleb is surprised to see a boy slightly older than him talking to the librarian. He’s a purple-skinned elf (as a human, Caleb has read enough about elves to know this is a Drow–a dark elf) with white, curled hair, and he wears a long dark purple and silver cloak over his dark leathers. He doesn’t look much older than Caleb, but elves mature at a different rate than humans, so he might be older than he looks.

Other than the fact that this boy is already in the library when classes have barely started (much like Caleb) and that he’s a Drow, a few other things take him aback: 1) the boy seems to be floating; 2) he is asking the librarian for books on Dunamancy the Luxon (whatever those words mean), and 3) he’s new. This is Caleb’s third year at the school, and he is positive that he has never seen this boy’s face anywhere. He would know with his keen mind.

After the librarian steps away to retrieve the books, Caleb shuffles quietly to stand next to the other boy and extends his hand with a smile, “Hello, I’m Caleb Widogast. Nice to meet you…” He waits. The boy looks at him in shock, as if he’s not used to being talked to—or seen—by others, and once he takes a good look at Caleb from head to toe (Caleb notices how the boy’s nose wrinkles at his worn and patched red cloak), he must seem to consider that Caleb is not a threat because he finally takes his hand. “I’m Essek–” his voice is soft like a winter breeze “–of Den Thelyss. 

Caleb adds Den Thelyss to the list of things he needs to research, right on par with Dunamancy and Luxon, as he shakes Essek’s hand. He could swear he feels a shock-wave hit him, and, for a moment, he sees the endless possibilities of what a friendship with this boy could bring him.

[breitweisergallery]

❄️

Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing.

“I worry we’ve put too much on his plate,” she said, in the quiet of one of the many side chambers from the throne room. Deirta nursed the full mug of tea in her hands and let out a long sigh. Quana was silent, uncrossing her long legs when Leylas shifted on the chaise they shared to rest her head in her lover’s lap. Abrianna held a near-empty mug herself, seemingly only half-listening to their conversation. 

“He has always been a bright boy,” Leylas continued, her eyes closing. Quana’s fingers found her hair, brushing through in a soothing manner. Deirta averted her eyes, cursing the longing for her husband deep in her chest; it had been too long now that Ryliss had yet to return to their home. She missed him daily, the insights he had to their sons that seemed just beyond her grasp. “But maybe we are asking too much of him.” 

“Essek has always been outspoken about his ability to handle more than most,” Quana said. If the words had intended to soothe worries, they missed the mark, Deirta thought, swallowing the sharp words she held for her friends, who thought they knew her son better than she. 

“Essek would rather walk empty-handed to the depths below than admit he has bitten off more than he could chew,” Abrianna said, saving Deirta her words. “The boy is as stubborn as his mother. The issue is, as it always has been, the lack of clarity in the job title, Leylas. Shadowhand. It covers five jobs alone, possibly more. What is it? Spymaster? Researcher? Professional heretic?” 

The last words were spoken quieter, nearly mumbled. Deirta snorted into her mug, wrapping her fingers around the ceramic again, just to feel the heat against her palm, nearly unbearable. “Even if you clarified, Essek would take on all of the work again, just to prove he could,” she said. Though the words themselves were bitter, there was no doubt a hint of pride in her tone. She would always be proud of the work Essek had achieved, of the way his mind worked, so clearly finding patterns others could not. 

“He is much like his mother in that regard.” Deirta’s eyes flicked up, meeting Leylas’ cool gaze across the room. “How can we rein him in?”

“Can we rein him in?” Abrianna countered; “or is he already outside of our control?” 

Deirta shook her head when three sets of eyes turned to her, uncertain. She hadn’t known then, and she still didn’t know now. Now, with Essek missing.

from "things that ought not to be"

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[criticallyincorrect]

Essek: my heart is guarded, but like very poorly.

Beau: *raises eyebrow*

Essek: like this is the kind of guard who would let three kids in a trench coat into an r rated movie

[fempunkandkittens]

So are none of us gonna talk about the part where essek grabbed Caleb by the back of the head to direct him where he wanted him to go

Or are we just all still processing that

Matt saw the bottom energy Liam gave to Caleb and decided to fully advertise that Essek is a top and I’m here for it tbh

[am-toast]

my redraw of the thumbnail from the latest episode! the shadowgast brain rot is strong with this one

[ch0c0tat]

I enjoy Essek very much... almost too much. In the details on his cloak I've also stuck lil easter eggs to all of the members of the Mighty Nein.

...I may make this into a gif in the future.

[roguesart]

Critical Role Fanart | Essek Thelyss

"Time is one of my specialties."

Did someone order a hot boi?! 👀 I present my first ever @CriticalRole fanart of one of my very favorite NPCs, Essek Thelyss! I hope you enjoy my take on this wonderful character~ 💜🖤

[spacepirateangels]

no but its perfect that the first canon acknoledgement of Caleb's feelings for Essek was not said out loud, it's probable that it would have taken him ages to open up about it otherwise!!

[emptyshellofanillusionwizard]

✨i’ve got that essek thelyss brain rot✨

(click for better image quality ^-^)

[phattwobatt]

Squishy wizard boy Essek Thelyss from critical role

[howluckyihavebeen]

Made an Essek mini on hero forge and just finished the paint job.

What do y’all think?