#hints of: caleb x jester

[escape-from-reality-reads]

Guiding

Hey lookie here another Molly fic!

Slight warning for swearing and a drunk guy who can't take a hint.

Mollymauk x reader

Find on AO3

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Tavern bugs were all the same; creepy, slimy, and talented at making people uncomfortable with no effort at all. The idiot who decided to move to the seat next to you when he had been sitting at the other end of the bar the second you got your order in was no different. 

You clocked him as he attempted to stand from his original seat, almost falling in the process and stumbling the entire way to his destination. He reeked of cheap beer and looked as if he decided that bathing in said cheap beer was the latest beauty trend. You could tell this was going to be less than pleasant.

“Why hello gorgeous, what are you doing in a place like this?” The slurring was almost as bad as his smell. You took a step to the side, watching him from the corner of your eye while silently willing the barkeep to move faster with the drinks you requested. “None of your business, I’m just getting a drink.” 

The man leans towards you. “C’mon now don’t be like that, I’m sure I can make your night more enjoyable than this shithole.” You glance at his hand that’s now moving to touch your leg before taking your own hand and shoving it into a pouch on your other hip, rubbing the piece of copper wire placed there, swatting at the drunkard’s hand once the spell is cast. 

“I would very much prefer you not touch me at all sir. I’m not interested and my group is patiently waiting for their drinks.” Your eyes glance over the drunk’s head to the table beyond where the recipient of the spell has tensed and snapped his head to look your direction. Your eyes are pulled back to the bar as the keep lays down the four drinks that were ordered. You thank her and start gathering your drinks as the man goes to reach for them. “Come now lemme help you with those.” 

“Oh, rest assured that’s not necessary.” You relax as the lightly accented words leave Molly as he reaches and grabs two of the cups, wrapping his tail around your ankle unconsciously. “They have all the help they need. Why don’t you go back to what I know is your spot back on the other end of the bar.” You hear the tone go slightly darker but the man doesn’t have the brain cells anymore to hear the same. Instead he puffs up his chest in a way that would have been intimidating if he wasn’t swaying like a leaf in the wind, nonetheless the motion makes Molly tighten his grip on your ankle slightly. 

The man starts to talk only to fall to the ground, leaving Jester standing behind where he sat. “You know if you're that drunk you should really go to sleep.” She glares at the man, discreetly removing her own tail from the foot of his previously occupied stool to avoid suspicion. “Who knows what could happen to you when you’re drunk to the point of falling off a stool with no effort.” 

The man, having his brain finally notice that you weren't alone and well watched, stumbled his way to his feet grumbling before making his way back to his original seat and leaving you three standing with your drinks. 

“Thank you.” 

“No need! Honestly someone should have come up with you, these cups are really big.” Jester says, grabbing the cups that Molly had and making her way back to the table. Molly’s tail unwraps from you as the two of you start that direction as well. 

“Lucky you had wire on you. I thought you gave the rest of it to Caleb.” 

You shrug. “I try to keep some on me just in case something like that happens. It comes in handy when you don’t want to be too obvious your calling backup.” 

“That’s smart. Could‘ve used that trick once or twice myself.” Once you sit down the conversation picks back up as the crew asks for details of what happened, Molly’s tail finding its way back around your lower leg.

----

A few hours later you make your way to the room you’re staying in with Molly, his arm lightly wrapped around your waist. You laugh quietly as you enter the room piquing his interest. 

“And what do you find so funny?” 

“Did you notice earlier that you were wrapping your tail around my ankle?” 

Molly tilts his head. “I did no such thing darling.”

Your head snaps around to look at him. “Oh don’t play that game! When you came to the bar you did it, when we sat down you did it, and you’ve done it in the past as well. Every time we’re in a situation where you can wrap an arm around me your tail finds its way around my ankle.” 

Molly frowns, only to have it negated by a look of mischief in his pupiless eyes. “Huh, I’ve never noticed. My apologies darling, I'll keep my tail to myself if it's such a distraction.” 

You laugh. “I never said that you had to stop. To be honest I don’t know if you could seeing as you didn’t realize you were doing it. To be honest I think it’s cute.” 

The frown turns to a smirk as he moves his tail to rub against your calf. “Oh, then maybe I should do it more often then.”

“Long as you don’t trip me I have no issues with it.” 

The smirk turns into a full out smile. “Oh you mean like this. He quickly wraps the tail around your waist, pulling you close to him before his arms take hold  where the tail had been. 

“You and I have very different ideas of what ‘tripping' means sir.” You lean into Molly as he looks down at you. “But that’s an acceptable move as well.” 

Molly’s gaze softens as he leans down for a kiss that you happily give, his tail curling around your lower leg. This time completely on purpose.

[avinryd]

Cat's Cradle

Author: AvinRyd Fandom: Critical Role Rating: T Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf & Yasha, Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast Word Count: ~1,650 Series: Shards and Spells

"...first time I've been glad Molly wasn't there."

- @caitmayart

--

Saw Cait's fanart (x) and it broke me into little pieces. I put those back together into this.

Read on AO3

On any other night, the soft riffle of worn parchment shuffling would be comforting, meditative work in Mollymauk’s hands. On any other night, there would be a blood-deep satisfaction in the near-inaudible sound of cards placed on threadbare fabric. On any other night, the glow of moonlight would light his spread and sing in his veins and there would be the humming feeling of not only Sehanine’s gentle presence, but a hint of mischievous spark from Jester’s Traveler and, underneath his incense and the floral warmth of the Wildmother, the sharp scent of ozone. Yasha’s Stormlord.

On any other night. But not tonight. Because Yasha is...Yasha is— 

Footsteps on the stairs of the Ready Room—ascending, growing louder, stopping on the landing.

“If we’re not discussing how to get her back, I’m not coming downstairs.” Molly says flatly, not looking up from his cards.

“I am not here to fetch you back, Mollymauk.”

Caleb. Soft-spoken, level-headed, absolutely fucking calm Caleb. How can he sound so gods-damned calm? How can all of them be so cold to just walk away and let that door close and— 

His mental tirade is interrupted by movement in his periphery. Just off the edge of his tarot cloth, one of Caduces’s wooden bowls slides into view. It’s full of a creamy stew of some sort, dinged iron spoon leaning against the edge, being held by a bandaged hand. It’s followed shortly by a chipped ceramic mug of steaming liquid, borne by a matching other hand. Molly looks up to see Caleb crouched across from him, fancy new coat pooled on the gritty wood floor and not meeting his eyes.

“You need to eat. You’re no good to her wasted away to nothing.”

Molly scoffs. “I’m no good to her stuck here either! Miles and a mountain and a half away, sitting in a fucking military storehouse when I should still be in there, still—” 

“Still what, Mollymauk? You wouldn’t still be anything. You would be stabbed through by another gods-verdammt oversized blade and by the time your neat little trick got around to bringing you back, there would be more time wasted than we are using right now.”

Caleb isn’t so soft-spoken, isn’t so calm now. His voice is low, but it’s tense and rough and he’s meeting Molly’s gaze now—deep purple bruising under his eyes and brows furrowed in consternation as he pins Molly with a hard look and it stops his mind short. This Caleb is familiar, for all Molly never actually got to meet him. This is the Caleb that rode up the Glory Run Road, dragging broken friends and compatriots away from a fresh grave to rescue the ones yet living. 

Molly swallows the spitting retort that’s fast dying on his devil’s tongue and carefully returns the cards to his deck, inverse of how they’d been placed and rolls up the cloth, sets them both aside and reaches for the bowl.

He eats in silence. Caleb shifts, sits against the bunk that hides Molly’s corner from the rest of the large room and pulls out a loop of silver thread to fiddle with. Moonlight catches in the threads and Molly recognizes the geometric patterns.

“No Molly, if you do it that way—see? You’ve got it tangled now.”

Molly made a face at the snarls of string binding up his wrists and fingers. Yasha only laughed softly and reached to pick apart the knots.

“Where did you even learn this? Practice for building snares in the Xorhassian wastes?”

“Jester taught me while we were at sea. It was a long journey and you run out of things to do on a ship, eventually.”

There was a waft of sea-salt tang rising from the string, nearly masked by the scent of dry parchment and flowers that clung to everything stored in Yasha’s belt-pouch. He wiggled his fingers gleefully once Yasha freed them, then looped the string around once more.

“Alright. Show me again.”

Molly sets the empty bowl aside—when had he finished it? Must have been hungrier than he thought—and scoots over across from Caleb. The wizard has reached a point in the pattern where he can’t move further. Wordless, Molly reaches in and deftly moves the strings, pulls them off Caleb’s hands and into the next pattern, then holds it out.

Their eyes meet in a quick glance, all that Caleb allows, then burn-scarred fingers reach across to pluck at the web spanned between Molly’s hands; gingerly pinching strings together, then looping them around and pulling back. Another familiar pattern. Molly follows along, and so they go, the silence stretching on and growing more comfortable as it does. Comfortable, but it’s not enough to soothe the agitation still simmering in Molly’s blood.

The emotions still boil up in him, horror and fear and anguish that steam out as anger at the situation, anger at his friends, their hesitance, their—

Caleb nudges Molly’s elbow with his own. Their hands are suddenly knotted together—Molly’s hands having spasmed and yanked the careful magic out of true, tangling the thread. Shit. Fuck. Gods damn it all, can't even get a simple children’s game right, let alone anything more useful. He doesn’t move as Caleb slips his own fingers free and starts untangling the thread. Still quiet, movements slow and purposeful and fucking hells below.

“How are you all so calm about this?” He doesn’t shout. He doesn’t.

There is a long moment of silence, Caleb slipping the last knots from the thread and winding it carefully before replying, “Everyone is in shock, Mollymauk. Do not mistake it for apathy.”

“Bullshit. If any of you gave a—” Caleb doesn’t let him finish, talks over him.

“Beauregard hasn’t said a single word since your shouting match three hours and twenty-seven minutes ago. Jester started crying halfway through that argument and hasn’t stopped. Caduceus burned the stew and oversteeped three separate pots of tea. Nott has done nothing but drink since we got back and Fjord has let his accent slip at least four times in that span.”

“And you?” Molly is still stuck on their firebrand wizard and his icy calm all through the ride back to Bazzoxan—stuck and enraged, if he’s honest with himself. 

Caleb laughs, dry as dust. “Well.” 

He holds out his right hand for inspection and Molly takes in what he hadn’t noticed earlier. The bandages on the outer blade of his hand are scorched brown, black at the edges, and there are red smears in the palm mirrored by the rusty brown caked under burned short nails. Unthinking, he reaches out to cradle it in his own two as Caleb continues,

“Nott told me to find something to do with myself before the proprietor noticed I was burning a hole in their table. So I brought you food.”

The hand in Molly’s grasp is shaking, as if only just being held back from clenching into a fist once more. Molly has to take a moment, has to sit with what Caleb’s just told him. He wants to stay angry, wants it more than anything, because if he’s angry then nothing else can get to him—if he’s angry, the rest of the awful, awful things...

Ah, too late. 

Their game of Cat’s Cradle had brought him and Caleb knee-to-knee, so it’s not far to go when Molly slumps forward to knock his head into Caleb’s shoulder. Months and months ago, back when they’d all first met, the Caleb Molly had known would have jerked back on instinct. The Caleb Molly had known wouldn’t have let his hand be held so tenderly either, or played a silly string game with him in grief-stricken silence. This Caleb has done all those things, and more—twisting his hand just enough to clasp around Molly’s forearm in a firm hold.

“I hate this.” Molly says to their laps, forehead pressed into the shoulder seam of Caleb’s fancy new coat. “Is this what it felt like? When I… When I was gone?”

“Nein,” Caleb replies, harsh and certain. Molly jerks upright at the tone.

“How?”

Caleb’s frown deepens. “You were dead, Mollymauk. You were dead and you were gone and we mourned you.” His hand tightens on Molly’s arm. “Yasha is not. She is alive, and we may not be strong enough yet, but we will get her back. I don’t— I’m not sure how we can, but we will, Molly. I swear it.”

Caleb’s free hand has lifted to rub at his face and Molly sees a smear of crimson when it comes away—a cut on his jaw that should have been healed many cleric spells ago. There’s dried blood crusted under the nails of that hand as well. Had he picked open that shaving nick over the course of the night?

There’s a hard lump in Molly’s throat that he tries to swallow past, but can’t. It blocks all his words except the few syllables he needs to send up to the Moonweaver as he reaches out to touch Caleb’s jaw. The silver crescent charm on his horn chimes softly as it spins and hits keratin, and a sparkle of divine blue light dances in the blue of Caleb’s eyes as Molly draws on the absolute last of his strength to seal up the tiny cut. He doesn’t move his hand after—keeps it there to feel the subtle movement of Caleb adjusting his jaw, relaxing clenched teeth.

It’s not far to go when their foreheads press together, made shorter by Caleb leaning in to meet him halfway. Molly lets his hand drop to fall atop Caleb’s wrapped ones in their laps, closes his eyes and tries to just breathe—he feels like he hasn’t properly since that door closed. 

It hurts. It’s going to hurt for a good long while yet, he reckons. But it’ll hurt a damn sight less once they’ve got Yasha back.

[criticalroleloveshots]

Exposed (Part 2)

Exposed Part 1

Oh boy this took so much longer than I intended. This last little while has been hectic in my personal and work life, I'm so sorry ♡

@fanfictionenthusiast A personal tag for you so you see it as soon as possible!

It could be that it was raining, or a sudden fog had rolled in. There was no other reasonable reason as to why your vision was starting to blur.  You stood up and pushed a palm into the corner of your eye to clear the haze. Didn't he just leave? "Why are you still here?"

A gentle smile graced his features, one that you had only seen brief flashes of. A warmth twists around your stomach as your mind starts to wander, to poke and prod before it turns cold. Essek stops your prying with the smile that becomes empathetic than anything else. He knows it's accidental, your prying.  It's always accidental with him.

Taking a step forward he reached his hand forward to take yours which you gave him with only the slightest bit of hesitation (clarification: it was actually a lot). Wordlessly you followed him, hovering down to the ground from the balcony. Maybe it was him pulling you but you had been so trapped in your thoughts about Caleb and Jester that you couldn't actually tell.

The two of you traveled in silence while you tried to focus on the man ahead of you again. Essek. He had an interesting relationship with the Nein. With Caleb- no no, you weren't going to go back down that path, not with a clear sign in your way to destroy that bridge all together.

It was begrudging. The teleporting, the probing for information, the constant, consistent Sending... the debt that they had to him from said teleporting. 

With your overthinking, you almost missed the beautiful towers with their interconnecting walkways and the way the brick shimmered a different hue if you turned your head left to when you turned your head right.

"Ess', is this where you live? This is... beautiful." He led you through the gate and towards the first room of his home. In a way it was exactly what you had expected.  Flora with the scent of fresh rain even if the space around you was dryer than tanned hide. Maybe a bit of spice... or soot? You had let go of his hand and started to wander, hands gently dragging along the walls and touching the glass stairs. You couldn't imagine walking, (floating?), up and down these stairs. They would make you nervous. 

"How are you feeling?" Essek's voice pulled you right back to him. You were quiet for a few minutes despite it feeling like hours. It was hard to answer that when you actually didn't know. He closed the gap from your wandering and grabbed your hand again, pulling it up to his chest, rubbing his thumb over the ridges of your palm. 

"I think I'm... okay..." Okay was the bare minimum that you were confident in. It really felt like you were locked out of your own head when you watched his hands. Your swallow was thick and slow, like bread with too much jam and honey. Essek hummed in response and the way he glanced up into your eyes, you knew he didn't believe that you were okay. His fingers started to trace further down, smoothing over the slight scarred ridges from past battles. They continued to move up your arm, slipping under the edges of your sleeves. Goosebumps crashed against your core and you shivered.

"And how do you feel now?" His voice was barely a whisper when his forehead tapped against yours. You were stammering breathlessly. Better. You felt much better and honestly, you couldn't remember why you were so upset. He was all around you. The spiced ginger musk, the violet eyes that bore into yours, the effortlessly silk skin on your arm.

And then his lips.

Oh his lips that tasted like the wine that he had brought for dinner. You wondered if you tasted the same, and if he liked it the way you liked his.

You could drown in his taste, and Essek decided that just for now, he could too.

[waywardwritings]

I wasn't super happy with what I wrote for that prompt, so I decided to add another longer part ☺️

Home - Caleb Widogast X OC/Reader

Prompt: 48. Someone accidentally lets something slip

Character: Caleb Widogast (property of Liam O’Brian/Critical Role)

Word count: 1257

I lean back with a sigh, closing my eyes for a second to stop the tears from falling. My mind is racing, trying to process everything I’ve just heard. Caleb has always hinted that his past was dark, constantly pushing everyone away that got even remotely close to him because of it, but I hadn’t expected anything like what I’ve just heard. I hate myself for having reacted the way I did. The hurt in Caleb’s eyes when he saw my shocked expression had felt like a dart to my heart. 

“I can understand if you want me to leave. I know I don’t deserve any of this or you.” Caleb’s voice is full of guilt and grief. All I want to do is walk over to him and hug him, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of him shying away from my touch. And why would he listen to me? Nott has told him several times that he needs to stop beating himself up, that she’ll always be by his side as his friend and he still doesn’t believe it. So why should he believe me or even care? I'm not even part of the Nein. 

Nott is currently at it again, reassuring him again and again that he will always be part of the Mighty Nein.

“I’m just not a good person. I don’t even know if I’m capable of any positive feelings…And I don’t wanna drag all of you down with me…” Caleb continues, his face buried in his hands, every muscle in his arms tense, like a scared cat pushed into a corner, ready to strike or flee at any second. 

“But you are a good person, Caleb,” Nott reassures him once more. “And you care for us, don’t you? So you definitely are capable of love.”

At this Jester jumps up. “Right! And you’ve told me you had feelings for Mel, so there’s that!” 

At Caleb’s sharp intake of air, Jester covers her mouth in shock. “Oh.”

My eyes shoot up, darting between him and Jester before finding his eyes. “What…?” is all I was able to usher, the words probably not even intelligible for anyone not within a few inches of me.

“I…I’m sorry,” Caleb mutters, before shooting up, pushing his chair over in the process. Before anyone could stop him, he rushes out of the house.

-----------------------

Nott is about to follow him, but Fjord puts an arm on her shoulder, signalling her to wait.  Without even having been able to sort my thoughts, my feet carry me towards the door. 

The cold air hits my brain like a wall, immediately making my thoughts clearer. Has he really told Jester he had feelings for me or has she just misunderstood him? While those thoughts are rummaging through my mind, my eyes scan the vicinity of the house. Thanks to my darkvision I’m able to spot Caleb within moments. His hands wrapped around him, he’s walking around aimlessly. 

With a few fast steps I’m able to catch up to him. “Caleb, please wait,” escapes my mouth quietly. He stops, but neither turns around nor looks at me. 

“Please, just forget what Jester said,” he mumbles, his eyes still fixated at the floor.

“What if I don’t want to?” My reply barely more than a whisper. 

Caught off guard, his posture relaxes for the faction of a second before he tenses up again, his fingers digging into his own arms.

“I’ve seen the look on your face earlier,” he states matter-of-factly. 

Taking a deep breath, I finally regain my courage and place myself in front of him. Gently but firmly I pry his hands away from his body, taking them into mine instead. 

“Caleb, listen,” I begin, more confidently than I feel. “I won’t lie and say I wasn’t shocked – hell, you should be concerned if I weren’t – but your past doesn’t define you.” 

I remove my right hand from his and let it hover over his breast to see his reaction. Instead of moving away, he uses our still connected hands to pull me slightly towards him, closing the distance between us. This close, I can breathe in his smell of old leather, books, and fire. With my ears filled with the beating of my own heart, it gets harder to form a coherent thought. I close my eyes and try to focus on the rhythm of his heart, steadily bumping against my hand on his chest, instead.

My gaze leaves my own hand and travels up to his face, his eyes still averting mine. “When I look at you, I see a man that deeply cares for others, even though you might not want to show it openly. Who would move mountains to right the wrongs he’s done…And I just wish you would see the same things when you look in a mirror.”

He opens his mouth to object, but before he can I continue. “I know it’s much easier said than done, believe me.” Now it’s my turn to look down at the ground. “I know what it feels like to be haunted by your past. To hear those screams in your head as soon as you’re in a quiet room. To relieve those moments every night in your dreams, only to wake up to the taste of smoke in your mouth as if you were still there…” My voice breaks, warm tears burning their way along my cheeks. 

To my surprise, I feel his hand underneath my chin, gently pushing it up. “Sounds like you should take your own advice,” he whispered, his eyes meeting mine for the first time. We don’t speak for a moment while he subconsciously brushes his thumb across my cheek, wiping a stray tear away. With my heart threatening to jump out of my chest I take a small step towards him, our faces just a few inches from each other. 

“We…You…Shouldn’t. I could never forgive myself for dragging you down with me…I’m not the person you should lose your heart to…even if I might have lost my own to you.” He is so close that I can feel his breath brushing my forehead as he speaks. I feel his weight shift away from me slightly, so I slightly tighten my grip on his left hand. 

“Please, don’t act like I don’t know what I’m in for. And I know you love to protect people, but could you please let go for once and trust me when I say you don’t have to protect me from yourself? Because I want you – the good and the bad - and I want this – whatever ‘this’ is going to be. So please just stop worrying and kiss me.” 

I feel the heat rising in my cheeks, my mouth acting quicker than my brain, not having intended to actually say the last bit out loud. I almost expect Caleb to turn on the spot and run.

A slight gasp escapes my lips as his hand suddenly moves from my cheek to the back of my head, pulling me in, so our lips touch. No longer hesitantly, he wraps his other arm around my lower back, pulling me in even closer, deepening the kiss. My body completely melts into his embrace. All my nervousness gone, instead replaced by a feeling of warmth and safety...the feeling of home. Something I've haven't had in a long time.

[grammarofskin]

I really strongly disagree with the idea that Liam needs to be providing us with “good bi representation” at all, full stop.  This isn’t a pre-written show with a planned narrative; Caleb’s bisexuality is a character trait designed to give him the flexibility and opportunity to pursue romance or chemistry with characters of either/any gender. What he does with his bisexuality is going to depend on where the story takes him, and, probably more importantly, who is willing to play romance opposite him. He doesn’t owe it to us, or to the “impressionable viewers” or whoever, to scrupulously show a 50-50 attraction to men and women.  He doesn’t owe it to us to intentionally seek out an m/m relationship if that’s not where the story or character interactions are taking him. It’s fine to want art where male bisexual characters are more 50-50 in their attraction, or have a stronger preference for men. But Liam doesn’t owe that to you, and he’s not “betraying the bi cause” when he pursues opposite-gender relationships in his improv game. Saying things like “Liam needs to play his characters as X% more attracted to men or else he’s just chasing bi-cred” is not a progressive statement. It’s a preference dressed up as a progressive statement, and also a common-as-dirt way to invalidate the identities of actual, real-life bi people who don't meet the criteria you’re defining as “good representation.”

I also strongly disagree with the idea that, because Liam has had to “confirm” Caleb’s romantic attraction to several people via Word of God, that’s a sign that the attraction isn’t being conveyed in the show. Liam-as-Caleb loves conveying things through inference, hint, allusion, and non-verbal cues. He’s not an exposition guy. Caleb has been in love with Jester for over a hundred episodes and has never said a word about it to anyone in-game, but it was obvious in his acting even before he confirmed it on Talks. Caleb’s chemistry with and attraction to Essek were also obvious long before he confirmed it out-of-game. Caleb actually said the words “the love that the three of us shared” to his known romantic partner Astrid, and people still weren’t willing to take that statement, consider it alongside previous context clues, and make the small leap of inference that yes, he was talking about Eadwulf, and yes, he meant it romantically.

Some people aren’t going to gel with his style of acting, and that’s fine. But the love and attraction he has for both men and women is right there in the show. “Subtle acting” is not queerbaiting.  It may not be your cup of tea, but it isn’t queerbaiting.

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Also not to keep going back to ships, but like traveler con had many fjorester moments, so I think Laura is trying to get some other moments in. Like in my personal opinion I think Jester does have strong emotions for Fjord, but I think Laura wants to give each ship its own moments. I also know it’s getting repetitive, but I’m gonna KEEP HOPING FOR A GOOD FJ MOMENT!!!!

No worries, I am always down to talk ships. I don’t even mind engaging in a little drama, but just not... negative drama? If that makes sense.

I’m not sure I think Laura is trying to spread the love between ships necessarily. I occasionally wonder if Jester has a crush on Caleb, but I’m honestly never sure. Sometimes it reads as crush to me, sometimes it reads as friendly. I just don’t think she’s saying “it’s this ship’s turn to have a moment”. She’s just having a nice moment with another character, whether it’s romantic or not, you know?

Also, I kind of think romance for her isn’t at the top of Jester’s mind right now. She’s messed up over what’s happening. Really messed up. She’s still dealing with the fallout from Travelercon. She’s dealing with Fjord being chased by Uk’otoa across the world. With Caleb’s past. With hoping Veth will stay. With the fact that Molly is alive and is probably not Molly anymore and they just covered up the death of a member of the Cerberus Assembly. I think she’s stressed and also doesn’t know what to do re:Fjord and romance, so she’s just not dealing with that right now.

Anyway. I’m gonna go off on something that seems like a weird tangent, but hear me out. Sorry I’m using your ask as a venting platform haha

VOX MACHINA SPOILERS BELOW

My first live episode was episode 13 of the Mighty Nein. I watched Vox Machina first. The fully completed campaign. I knew that Vax and Keyleth were canon going in, because I finally tried it after I saw a gifset of the two of them saying goodbye to each other in the last episode and I was like why are they crying over a d&d game I need to find out. So, I watched through the entire Vox Machina campaign knowing most of which ships were going to happen. But I was specifically looking for Vaxleth. It was a case of going in already shipping it.

So, there start to be little tiny hints that Vax is into Keyleth after Kraghammer. And they slowly get more obvious but everyone at the table still missed them. And then Vax confessed his love. Two episodes later, they held hands by the tree and Keyleth told him that she needed time in 35. And then NOTHING happens for like 7 episodes. They do the weird dancing around it thing, holding hands, being kind of awkward. And then they don’t spend the night alone in 42. Three episodes later, he reminds her that he loves her and she reiterates not being ready. Nine episodes after that, they make out for a while. TEN EPISODES AFTER THAT, they spend the night together again. Finally, one episode later, Keyleth admits she wants to give things a shot. It took thirty-one episodes between the first time Vax confessed his feelings to them actually being together as a couple.

It’s twelve episodes between the time that Percy kisses Vex before they fight Vorgual and the time he goes to her door to talk and she answers the door completely naked.

Okay I know it sounds like I’m rambling, but... here’s the point. 

There were tiny moments for Vaxleth between all these big moments. But there were also tiny moments for every other ship. Grogleth. Vexleth. Is there a Percy x Keyleth ship? Percy and Keyleth had moments ALL the time. All of these other ships CONTINUED to have what you could consider moments after canon ships were established. We’re gonna see that happen this campaign, too.

I know that it feels like it’s been a long time since we had a big Fjorester moment, but it really hasn’t. It’s been 6 episodes. We’re good, ya’ll, I promise. It FEELS like a long time because we’re watching it live with at least one week between episodes. It was different, for me, when I was watching Vox Machina, because I was going through between 3 and 4 episodes a day. ALSO. It feels like a long time, because we Fjorester shippers were SO FED during Travelercon. We went from an arc where we had constant reassurance to one where they’re both freaking out and having a few conversations, but nothing that seems like ship progress.

The progress is there though! It’s just slow and steady. And in an improv game. There won’t always be time. But I still think they’re endgame. And I think we’re going to see a big Fjorester moment within the next month. I know the wait is torture, but I bet it’s worth it in the end.

[peach-the-owl]

Hello, I was wondering if you could do a Fjord/mighty nein x child reader with 5 and 15? I love your blog and your writing, have a lovely day!

I did it! It took longer then I thought to finish but it was worth it. I’m rather proud of myself for this, also isn’t be exactly like how it originally played out but I still kept it close, because story reasons. Enjoy!😁

No Matter What

Child of the Nein (Fjord & Child!Reader)

5- You always know how to brighten my day, 15- You look like you could use a hug.

You couldn’t believe it when Fjord told everyone he’d lost his abilities, sure you were glad he didn’t have to deal with that creepy Uk’otoa (Uk'otoa) guy anymore and he was using his real voice more now too, but you were also worried for him seeing as he no longer had his magic to help, making him feel useless. You could relate as you were still trying to get a grip on your own abilities, not being entirely confident when engaging in combat. The Mighty Nein were supportive and gave him some items to help, but you knew deep down that it just made Fjord feel like he was being pitied for being so powerless. You set off making your way to Uthodurn and as you push through the snows of the Flotket Alps you take in the beauty of your surroundings, or at least you would if it wasn’t for the snow already paying a toll on your little legs.

"I suppose the snow would be a bit deeper for you, although Nott's doing just fine must be that ring." Fjord comments, mumbling the last part more to himself, but taking notice of your struggles to keep up.

"You know what could make this easier for me?" You look to him hopefully.

"No, what?" He raises an eyebrow curiously. You don’t respond, instead you lift your arms and make a grabbing motion so he’d take the hint. He chuckles in amusement before turning around so you could climb onto his back. You wrap your arms around his neck, and he wraps his under your legs for support before hoisting you up. You could feel the brisk air nipping at the tips of your short pointed ears, but that didn’t matter as you now had a better look at your gorgeous wintery surroundings.

"Let us away my noble steed!" You jokingly say with a fake posh accent. You get a lighthearted laugh from Fjord and then you were off, quickly catching up with everyone else. As the day goes on Fjord starts asking Beau about how long it took to acquire her skills, Nott jumping in saying she could teach him how to use crossbow since her 5 year old could do it too.

"Now that I think about it, your pretty good with a weapon yourself." Fjord looks up at you on his shoulders, you stare back at him for a second.

"Well yeah, but I’m not that great yet. I still have a lot to learn, besides you taught me some of those sword tricks." Your only response is a hum of acknowledgement. Wanting to change the subject you decide to play I-spy with Fjord, everyone else joining in when they weren’t busy figuring out where to go. As your playing you give him a quick tight squeeze before loosening your grip again.

"What was that for?" He looks up at you again, you shoot a smile at him.

"I don’t know, you just looked like you could use a hug is all." This earns you a soft chuckle.

"I uhh, I spotted some wolves." Caduceus says out of the blue.

"Caduceus, your only supposed to say what colour you see not what you actually see." You sigh.

"Oh sorry, but I did see some wolves so I think everyone should be ready if they decide pounce." Caduceus then points in a general direction where the wolves had been. You see one bound towards you but before it's on you a strange centipede-like creature bursts through the ground in a spray of snow and ice and swallows the wolf whole. Nott shots a bolt at the creatures eye causing it to roar and thrash in pain then a second, larger one bursts out of the ground, it strikes at Jester and captures her in its large jaws. You feel Fjord shrug you off him, gently placing you on the ground then run towards the creature giving it a quick swipe from the dagger Nott gave him.

Not really up for just being a sitting target you move yourself aways from the giant centipede, still struggling to move but noticing the snow melting around these creatures. Taking a look over your shoulder you see Beau now riding on top of the larger one saying something about fire and ice and Caleb frantically flipping through his spell book, then he pulls something from his pocket and the next thing you know Jester turns into a mammoth. Through the chaos you failed to notice how close you were to the smaller of the two creatures and with Nott having scampered away it’s attention turned to you. It takes a strike at you, and instantly you feel both sharp and searing hot pain shoot up through your body as the creature grapples you in its jaws causing you to shriek. You try pushing at its jaws hoping to pry them open, but to no avail. You fight through the pain as you attempt to focus, hoping that your idea works. When you feel the hilt of your short sword in your hand you take a second to celebrate your accomplishment, the searing hot pain quickly brings you back to reality and you stab at its head. It starts thrashing around violently before falling to the ground you didn’t think you did that much damage, then you look over and see mammoth Jester trampling at it’s body, being careful enough to avoid crushing you as well. After all that you were still however stuck in the now dead creatures mandibles, the heat still burning your flesh. Ignoring whatever everyone else was doing you take your sword and try wedging it into the creature to pry the jaws apart just enough for you to shimmy free, it takes some effort and a lot of pain but you manage to free yourself and start crawling away. You attempt to stand up, big mistake as you instantly fall down again, your left side hurt like hell going down to your leg, that was defiantly going to leave some scars. Instead of standing again you drag yourself to a snowy patch using the coolness from it to ease the pain, you then pull out some bandages Caduceus gave you and wrap them around your leg to stop any bleeding. Finally shifting your attention back to the group, who had finally taken care of the bigger centipede creature, you could see that poor Beau was unconscious and everyone looked roughed up, well everyone except Caleb… lucky.

"Where’s (y/n)!?" You hear Fjord ask a bit panicked.

"Over here!" You call out a little weakly. Even in his rough state he still manages to jog over to you.

"Are you okay?" He asks, noticing your minor burns and bloody, bandaged leg.

"I’ve been… better."

"Can you stand on your own?" You shake your head to which he carefully lifts you into his arms, you wince a little but are otherwise fine. After about 3 more hours of stealthy travel thanks to Jester's Pass Without Trace spell and lots of discussion on where to sleep you all settle for camp in the trees. Well you tried settling in the trees but as soon as you did the branches snap and you all plommet to the ground, you feel Fjord grab your arm and pull you closer to him to shield you from the impact.

"Are you okay?" It was your turn to ask that question now.

"I had worse falls, it’s nothing." You smile and give a thank you before getting up, now able to stand though it still stung a little. With your treetop camp broken you all hobble over to the mountain side where Caleb plops himself down and starts to make the dome. You give a yawn, the days activities have worn you out. "It’s pretty late, why don’t you get some sleep."

"I’m not tired." You could be stubborn sometimes, not wanting to fall asleep before everyone else, why? Just because that’s why. "You were really awesome today." You change the subject.

"In what way?" Fjord looks at you curiously.

"You gave me a fun piggy back ride when I was having a hard time walking, seeing you fighting anything is always fun to watch. I saw at the corner of my eye you grab the tail of the bigger creature with your whip, that was cool. *yawn* And not long ago you saved me from that fall."

"I guess, some of those things would’ve been easier to do if I had-"

"Stop," you cut him off before he can finish, "I don’t care about that. You’ve done a lot for me since we met, you know. So for what it’s worth, no matter what happens, with or without you powers you're still awesome to me." You finish your statement with confidence, then let out another yawn.

"Thanks (y/n), even when I feel down you always know how to brighten my day. Now why don’t get some sleep we still have more to do tomorrow." By now the dome had formed and everyone was settling in.

"I’m still… not… tired…" Your words said one thing but your heavy eyelids proved you wrong as you curl up beside Fjord, who put a protective arm around your shoulders.

"Sweet dreams (y/n)." Is the last thing you hear before you let sleep drift you away.

[sunflowersloth]

Compliments- Caduceus Clay x Reader

Requested By: Anon.

Request: “I absolutely loved your last caduceus prompt, so maybe you could do a fluff #2 for cad sometime? :0″

Warnings: Some innuendos and painfully obvious flirting

A/N: Kickoff to the sleepover! Hope you enjoy. The ending isn’t my favorite thing, but I worked super hard so I’m proud of the outcome. Hope you enjoy!

Caduceus Clay didn’t always know everything. In fact, Caduceus knew practically nothing about the outside world, making him the purest being in the whole group. 

Of course, that meant he learned about the world from Jester, Beau, and Nott, which weren’t exactly the best influences in your opinion. Jester filled his head with her romance novel plots and Beau often made innuendos without telling the taller firbolg what they meant. 

This caused stress for you. You had had a crush on Caduceus since the tall man had helped the group save you, Jester, Fjord, and Yasha from the Iron Shepherds. Since then, you cherished every moment around the pink-haired man, loving everything from his softness to the beauty he saw in the world. 

However, Caduceus had a tendency to say things that caught you off guard more than you expected. Like now. 

You were sitting in Caduceus’ garden at the top of the Xhorhouse tower, bathing in the pale light that flooded down from the tree. The garden was a safe space for you, and you often sat against the tree, listening to the sounds of the town and watching Caduceus as he tended to his flowers. 

Today you had brought a book, a gift from Caleb, and were quite content with relaxing against the tree as Cad walked through the rows of plants and flowers. About halfway through, you set your book down to stretch. Getting up from your spot against the tree, you took a moment to walk through the flower garden, stopping alongside the daisies, your favorite flower. They were in bloom, despite the unnatural weather, and the aroma of the petals and pollen made you smile and sigh with pleasure. You crouched down and picked a flower gently from the bundle and carefully weaved it into your hair, smiling as the aroma became stronger.

You turned around to walk back to your book, only to be met with a large firbolg standing beside you. You instinctively stop yourself from running into, looking up at the smiling face that was shadowed by the wicker hat that he wore.

“Daisies really compliment your eyes,” Caduceus said, his tone warm and almost playful. You knew that a simple comment shouldn’t have set you off as much as it did, but for some reason, the thought that Caduceus, who thought every plant and flower was positively beautiful, thought your eyes reminded him of flowers was enough for you to lose all sense of mind. You blushed, mumbling a thank you before brushing past him to bury yourself in your book before Caduceus Clay could see what a mess he had turned you into with his words. 

The next few days went off without any issue, but then the fight happened. A crazy fight with a dragon had led to almost all of the Mighty Nein with some kind of injury. Away from danger, the group was resting in Caleb’s small magic-made dome, healing and allowing you, Jester, and Caduceus to heal them. Once you were finished with healing Beau’s abdominal wound, you turned to Caduceus, who had just finished with Caleb. You noticed that the firbolg himself was sporting a small, but deep cut along his cheek.

“Caduceus, would you let me heal that?” You asked, walking towards him and pointing to his cheek. Caduceus touched the spot gently and seemed surprised to find blood on his fingers when he pulled back. With a slight nod, your hands were resting along Caduceus’ cheek, your eyes closed as you felt magic surge from your hand to the wound. You felt the skin begin to close beneath your palm, and when you moved it away, the skin was closed without a hint of a scar. You smiled.

“All finished.” 

“I have to say, your fingers are like magic,” Caduceus said, in a low rumbling voice. You knew that Caduceus meant that in a purely platonic, kind way, but those words instantly caused red to erupt on your cheeks as both Jester and Beau began to cackle at Caduceus’ comment. Caduceus sent a confused glare to the pair, as you mumbled out a thank you and moved away to sit by Caleb, hiding your face in your knees as Caleb gave you a soft head pat of sympathy. 

“What?” Caduceus asked, eyebrows furrowed. Beau waved him off, still laughing to herself as Caduceus simply shrugged. You stayed curled up until you calmed down, lifting your head up to see Caduceus across the bubble, focus off of you and onto Nott. You let out a breath of relief, earning an amused smirk from Caleb as you shot him a glare. You didn’t know how much longer you could handle these comments from Caduceus.

That night was the straw that broke the Moorbounders back. The Mighty Nein had been invited to a party thrown by the Martinet in Nicodranas, and you all had agreed to go in hopes of gaining more information. You had decided to let Caduceus and Jester shop for your outfit, taking some well-earned downtime to sit on the beach at Nicodranas and meditate. 

The outfit that Jester picked for you was absolutely stunning, in your own opinion. You walked out of your shared room with Yasha and joined the rest of the group, and Marion Lavorre, in the lobby of the Lavish Chateau in your evening wear, earning a whistle from Jester and a warm smile from everyone else.

Whilst walking, you naturally fell back to walk beside Caduceus. The two of you walked together, usually with Caleb who was currently a few feet in front of you with the newly returned Veth. You walked in comfortable silence with him, when he looked down at you and smiled.

“I must say, you look beautiful. You remind me very much of the flowers that grew from my grandmother’s grave,” He said, a smile on his face. You were left speechless for a moment, your mind racing. Caduceus had mentioned his grandmother a few times during conversations and your mind picked out the specific time that Caduceus mentioned how he thought the collection of lilies and moss around the burial site was, and always will be, the most beautiful part of the Blooming Grove. 

Your face erupted into red, as your heart began to beat out of his chest. You looked away from him, staring straight ahead and trying to calm yourself down as Caduceus stared at you, confused.

“Is there a reason that you’re blushing like that?” Caduceus asked, looking at you with concern in his eyes. You let out a mix of a groan and a sigh, before looking to Caduceus.

“Do you know what those kinds of compliments mean to me?” You blurted out, regretting it the minute it left your mouth. Caduceus stopped, seemingly trying to process what you had just said. You sighed, louder this time before you stopped to look at him. Before completely turning your attention to Cad, you waved Caleb off, not wanting anyone to witness you being rejected.

“What do you mean?” Caduceus finally asked, looking up at you with furrowed pink eyebrows. You looked into pink eyes, searching for anything, but there was only confusion.

“It’s just-” You took a deep breath, trying to get rid of your nerves- “I like you, a lot. You’re kind and wise, and super pretty, and every time you compliment me like you just did, I start blushing and my hearts start beating and I know that you’re just being nice and you don’t feel the same but I-”

“You think I don’t like you back?” Caduceus asked. You stared at him, before shaking your head.

“Not in the same way I like you,” You said, dejectedly. You were about to turn to finish the walk to the party, but Caduceus grabbed your hand before you could walk away. You turned to look at him, confused before he bent down and placed a soft kiss to your cheek. Your eyes widened as he stood back up, smiling at you with that grin you loved so much.

“I do like you like that. I’m sorry I didn’t make it more obvious. I thought my compliments were telling enough,” Caduceus said, his eyes soft. You let yourself grin, wide and happy before you grabbed his hand and pulled him down a little bit, getting on your tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips.

“Let’s go. We have a party to attend,” You said, relishing in the blush that settled on Caduceus’s pale face as you pulled him along to catch up with the rest of the Mighty Nein.

[drowningintheminutiae]

Something has occurred to me. I’m probably not the first, but I haven’t read anyone else’s post about it yet and I need to work out my thought process here. If you’re not up for getting meta about Critical Role, feel free to skip this train-of-thought derailment.

First, some established facts:

1) Ok, so Rumblecusp is “the center of Exandria”. The implication of which is that it is somehow connected to all places in Exandria as well as (possibly) all points in Exandria’s history. (Brain bendy, but I think I might have a handle on that.)

2) People who come to the Island (from parts and times unknown), eventually lose some to all memories they had of tre before times (not being on the island). (No indication so far of how quickly that happens.) Viridian, in particular, thinks she’s been there 30-ish years and has a faint hint of a recollection of the continent of Tal’Dorei but doesn’t remember any other details (including how she lost her leg). Viridian is also obviously a Druid — based on shape change, tree stride, and the badass new leg o’vines she has.

3) 30-ish years ago, Vilya, mother to Keyleth of the Air Ashari (Druid, eventual Voice of the Tempest), was working her way through her Aramente when an encounter with a Kraken (near the portal to the Elemental Plane of Water) went horribly wrong and her entire party was killed. It is assumed that Vilya also perished but all they found of her was her severed leg.

4) A huge portion of the CR fandom (and a non-zero number of the cast, I imagine) are therefore convinced that Viridian is Vilya.

5) One of the stretch goals for the Kickstarter was a VM x MN one-shot. No details about how that would work or which characters from each campaign would be be involved have been released.

In a “if A, then B” manner, I hereby present my thoughts/conspiracy theory:

What if Viridian *is* Vilya (and god, there are so many layers of emotions wrapped up in that possibility)? What purpose would Matt be hoping to achieve with that? Such an emotionally-weighted loose end from campaign 1 is unlikely to be used as just a fun Easter egg for long term fans, or cast. Matt always has layers on top of layers going on.

So... what if this mystery island and its (not)god Avocado (I legit can’t remember the real name right now, oops!) are a way for Matt to set up the aforementioned one-shot?

Like: because of the way that the island spans times/places, somehow the party gets split — half the MN just disappears (into another time or place perhaps?) and the ones left on Rumblecusp are unexpectedly joined by strange people from another timeline. After a few moments of awkward hilarity ensue, they realize they have to work together to defeat Avocado and restore the timelines and return their friends. And what if, amongst those strangers from another time, is a young red-headed half-elf Druid? (And possibly a couple of her friends.)

If this is where this is heading, my predictions/hopes are thus:

- The VM contingent: Keyleth, Scanlan, Pike, and maybe Grog

- Angst abounds: Keyleth seeing her mother; Jester losing (even temporarily) her besties (Beau, Veth, Yasha, and possibly Fjord); the reminder that we’ll keep Caleb in this episode because there is no Vax to bring over (depending on “when” they come from); Vilya regaining her memories and realizing how much of her daughter’s life she has missed out on. 😭😭😭😭

- Maybe a second part to the cross over (🤞🏻), where we get to see Beau, Veth, Yasha, and maybe Fjord meet Percy, Vex, Trinket (and maybe Grog). And, depending on “when” they are, maybe Liam’s Derrig (from the Dalen’s Closet episode), who is a little perturbed that the Tempest (who he is supposed to be keeping “safe”) has just disappeared.

I dunno. I’m probably over thinking this. And this rambling post probably makes no sense (it’s the middle of the goldarn night here, why tf am I still awake?).

Thanks for listening, feel free to chime in with your own theories or reasons why I’m very very wrong.

[starlling-writes]

Shared Pieces

Summary: The Mighty Nein gather together in one of the tavern rooms they rented to share some stories. Caleb just shared his dark tale. Good thing the rest of the group know how to pick the mood back up. One-shot based off of Liam’s 1st Narrative Telephone story. Rating: PG (brief mention of fairy tale level/metaphorical eating of children) Length: 900 Words Pairing: small hint of Jester x Caleb

— — —

The rest of the Nein stared at Caleb with varying degrees of shock and dismay. His story was a splash of cold water compared to the tales the others had shared so far. It wasn’t like they were caught completely off-guard by it, though. They knew their friend had a dark past—some enough to question the deeper meanings this story might have.

“That’s uh…” Beau started as she searched for the right words. “That’s quite a spooky story there, Caleb.”

“It’s so sad!” Jester cried—literally, with tears running down her face. Her hands clutched to her chest as she looked at Caleb with large, sorrowful eyes. “Those poor kids. They can’t think for themselves, or see the truth, or love! I just… I wish the story had a happier end, you know? Not that your story was bad, Caleb—you’re really good at telling stories. It was just… really depressing.”

She wiped the tears away, her hands staying on her face squishing her cheeks. Frumpkin hopped off Caleb’s shoulder and walked up to her. Smiling, she picked the sweet cat up into her lap. It was calming to pet him. Then Jester went off on another ramble, “I just prefer stories that end happily. Like sure, cake is fine on its own. But it’s so much better with frosting, right? And, like a good story, it’s even better if you share it with friends—I mean, yeah, you don’t get as much cake for yourself, but it’s still good. And they’re there with you. And they probably enjoy it more too because of course it’s better than not having any cake at all.”

“At first I didn’t wanna eat anything after that story. But now I kinda want some cake,” Beau admitted.

Jester grabbed Frumpkin’s from paws and made him do a little dance. “Mean, old vortex eating body parts from children,” she grumbled then giggled. “That’s just so gross, right?”

“Waldhexe,” Caleb corrected. “A forest witch.”

“Ohh… That makes more sense,” Beau said. Apparently more than one of his friends misunderstood his Zemnian.

“She should’ve just eaten the kids entirely,” Nott chimed in, not minding the language lesson. “So much good meat wasted by letting them live.”

Jester scrunched her nose at her friend. “Oh my gods, Nott. You make it sound like you’ve eaten children before.”

“I have,” she deadpanned.

Jester’s eyes went impossibly wide. Fjord and Beau exchanged glances, wordlessly asking each other if they thought she was lying or not. Yasha asked, “Have you really eaten a child?”

“Of course not,” Nott immediately defended, all sarcasm now gone. She took a quick swig from her flask. “I just wanted to mess with you. You know—lighten the mood a bit and tell a joke.”

“About eating children…?”

The silence was deafening.

Caduceus broke it, standing up as he said, “Let’s take a snack break.”

“Yes,” Fjord agreed. “Snacks.” The two of them left the room and went to tavern’s ground floor to order food.

Gradually the rest of them got up, stretched, and left. Save for Caleb. He sat in his spot staring into the middle distance, unmoving. Frumpkin jumped back up on his shoulder but he didn’t react beyond reflexively scratching the cat’s chin.

Jester noticed the wizard’s absence as she, Nott and Yasha started down the stairs. She told the other ladies to go on ahead, then returned to the room. She didn’t say anything as she entered, nor when she plopped down next to Caleb on the floor. He didn’t acknowledge her. Jester didn’t mind, though. She occupied herself with looking around the simple bedroom, as plain as every other tavern they had stayed at; she traced the embroidery on her dress; she took a pumpkin seed from her pouch and fed it to Sprinkle.

“So I was thinking,” she spoke up. “What if… the kids found someone later on who was like, Oh, it’s okay if you’re missing your heart or whatever; you can have a bit of mine. You know, like my cake story. And just—more and more friends helped share a bit of themselves until the kids had enough to replace what the witch ate and they were better again.”

Caleb finally looked at her. As he studied her, as her words sunk in, he could feel a piece of himself chip away from her warmth. “That’s a beautiful thought, Jester,” Caleb said softly. “Perhaps the ending will be rewritten like that one day.”

It was a shame this sweet moment was cut short by a Message from Nott to Jester.

Jester slammed her hands on the floor in front of her and angrily replied, “Don’t you dare eat all the cake without me!” Fueled by her need for sweets, she jumped to her feet, grabbed Caleb by the arm and hauled him up as well. Frumpkin vanished, not enjoying the sudden movement. “Come on! We gotta get down there before Nott eats all the cake on us.”

He let himself be dragged off by her. They were such an energetic bunch, his friends—his found family, he tentatively called them. He could hear them laughing and swearing all the way from the top of the stairs. “Und vielleicht hat der Junge doch ein bisschen Herz gefunden,” Caleb said to himself. The subtlest of smiles tugged his lips as he joined the rest of the Mighty Nein.

[Translation: “And perhaps the boy found a bit of heart again after all.”]

— — —

 Previous — Next

Critical Narrative Masterlist

[vethbrenatto]

i know you ship beauyasha but i was wondering what your other ships were!

OOO boy, for CR this is a big question that i don’t think you were prepared for my thoughts on so i’m gonna give the TLDR just for whoever doesn’t want to bother reading My Thoughts^TM:

For C1: Pikelan, Perc’ahlia, and a teeeeensy bit of Vax’ilmore For C2: Pretty much everything!

Okay, onward to the Thoughts:

People talk about Polymachina a lot but I actually find the M9 much more susceptible to poly-ness and openness in shipping. Other than the canon sexualities that block certain ships (aka shipping Beau or Yasha with men), I’m pretty much open to anything. The few things I don’t ship as much are simply because I feel like I don’t have enough on screen time for them (yet), for semi to very popular ships in fandom, that’d probably be like CalebxMolly or CalebxEssek, neither of which I’m against, I think I just need more to get behind them. Especially Essek, which has a real possibility of happening in canon, if I get some more development, I could potentially ship it.

Other than that, for C2, I’m very open with ships. Beauyasha, Beaujester, Fjorjester, and Fjorclay are some popular ones I’m all down with. I enjoy the little hints of Widojest that Caleb certainly throws out. My guilty pleasure sort of ship would probably be Widobrave because I do love Yeza & Veth’s relationship, but I also adore the way Sam plays Veth’s feelings for Caleb (as Caleb pines for Jester). Even things that I don’t see as often like Widofjord or Yashter or VethxJester, I think are cute even though I don’t see romance in the canon. 

As for what I predict to be canon, I’m confident (bar any sudden deaths) that Fjorjester and Beauyasha will be endgame, but that doesn’t really stop me from liking other ships. The multishipping is real in C2.

As for C1, I think possibly because I was very open to spoilers and I knew the endgames, I wasn’t as open with ships. Also, I just didn’t feel that many romance vibes other than the canon. Okay, a little Vex x Kiki is cute, but other than that. It was mostly- here is the canon, either I vibe with the ship or I don’t. I ended up vibing with Pikelan WAY more than I planned to, I fell in love with the gnomes. I kind of knew I’d end up loving Perc’ahlia and I did, but not to the extent I love Pikelan honestly. As for Vaxleth, it just wasn’t my vibe. I love the way Marisha & Liam RP intensely as Caleb & Beau, but put into a romance it was a little much for me. That being said, still don’t hate the ship or anything. Oh, also Kash & Zahra and Kimallura still own me. 

And those are my ship thoughts. Like I said, with the many, many characters of CR, it’s a lot, so I don’t blame you if you didn’t read this.

[sunlightpike]

i’ve been thinking a lot about nott’s memory lately and getting really emotional (primarily bc @yfere brought it up on a post of mine which got me really thinking about it so thanks for the emotions)

her memory makes sense-- she’s got the second highest int in the group (16 to caleb’s 20), she memorized the con list that they created before they met tm9 just as well as he did (we know of 8, there are definitely more), she learns her spells like caleb does (except she doesn’t need to prepare spells she just learns them and then has them). 

but she also tends to (at least by my memory) remember details and facts rather easily. if she doesn’t recall what someone told her immediately, she’s able to think back and pull up details rather quickly once she gets a bit of a hint (one example of this-- n: “you have sisters and brothers?” / cad: “oh yeah” / n: “oh that’s right, you told us. you have a large family but they’re all scattered about, right?”). 

or the names of places, like when she remembers “the evening nip” when everyone’s trying to figure out where the gentleman’s from obviously sam is looking through his notes to find this but in-game it is nott who remembers it first 

unlike caleb, she doesn’t remember every detail. and she’s not confident in her memory, often asking for clarification (posing things she knows as questions-- “this person was x, right?” “wasn’t that where x happened” “was that when we did x?” etc etc), and often remembering buzz words like names or general concepts and calling on caleb for the rest of the details. she remembers things people said to her, when people respond to her in unexpected ways (notably-- caleb’s weird look when she used “bren”), and what she tells people (stories, lies, truths, fake names, etc). her memory is clearly very good-- she keeps an impressive amount of things straight in her head.

but then take what she says when she starts to tell tm9 about her past: “I’ll be honest. I've started forgetting what it feels like to be a halfling, to be me. I don't remember everything any more. I feel like every day I'm more and more goblin. I don't like it at all. I don't like myself at all.” she also states that she forgot what luke looked like. she’s clearly worried about the details she’s forgotten-- think of what she says when jester offers to go in and let yeza know what’s going on-- “don’t build me up too much, because... I don’t know, if I get a detail wrong or something...”

when she reunites with yeza, she clearly remembers some of their old conversations, but i doubt that she’s lying about slowly forgetting her past (while she does sometimes underestimate her own ability to remember things as she phrases things as questions, like i mentioned earlier, she also seems genuine in the fact that she’s forgetting things and that hurts and scares her)

so; nott has an above average memory. but her memory is failing her-- not of recent things, she can remember those fine. she remembers things the mighty nein have told her and places they’ve been and looks they’ve given her. and perhaps that makes it all the more painful that she’s forgetting the things of her past. not everyone would expect themselves to keep every detail straight-- honestly, people getting a detail about the past wrong happens all the time. 

but what if she always did? what if, when she was in felderwin, she still had an above average memory. what if veth remembered details, remembered the look in yeza’s eyes when she said something and the scientific name of the flower he told her on their first date. what if she remembered things he told her, picked up on the names of plants and their uses quickly, was able to help him in the shop. she was, and is, clever. 

and i can’t help but think about her realizing the things she was forgetting. some things would be obvious, as she forgot the way her hair fell or her hands looked or found herself struggling to remember halfing words sometimes. but some things would hit her unexpectedly. like; the scientific word for this flower is on the tip of her tongue, she knows it, it’s the one yeza gave her all those years ago, but what is it? she can’t remember. 

or; she should be able to tell what’s in this potion, yeza taught her to recognize lots of different ones, but instead she just stares at it until caleb completes his identify spell and tells her the name, and then she’s not sure how she could’ve forgotten (but she still doesn’t know what goes into it). 

or; she sits down in front of a mirror when everyone’s asleep and turns herself into veth, and then yeza, and then luke, because her memory is going and she refuses to forget what they looked like (and slowly, over time, though she doesn’t realize it, their faces change and morph, details glazing over, features changing oh-so-slightly, and it’s not enough, she realizes she forgot what luke looked like after all when she sees him at edith’s)

she’s not forgetting everything, and she can still remember the major things-- major events, memories that stick out to her. but she’s losing the details that she always had. and somehow that makes it all the more painful.

[writers-blogck]

A New Adventure Begins ( Mollymauk x Reader ) 04

Song Warning(s): One more thing, in this story, pretend that Jester drinks alcohol and not just milk all the time. Title: A New Adventure Begins Number in Series: Four Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf x Reader Fandom: Critical Role Word Count: 5,302

   The group finally reached the tavern in the evening, an hour or so before the bars would be getting most of its customers. The wagon was packed and things were grabbed as you walked into the tavern. Customers were quietly chatting, most being others who were staying in the tavern. They were eating dinner, which seemed to be some sort of meat and potatoes. The smell was delicious and caused your stomach to quietly growl. The idea of a hot meal was wondering at the moment. How long had it been since you had one? The Mighty Nein had given you simple rations of bread and cheese while traveling.    You could feel a few eyes on you as you walked toward the bar. How could you blame them, you looked terrible. Twigs were in your hair and dirt on your skin. They must think you were some feral woman they picked up out in the woods, which wasn't that outlandish to believe. Subconsciously, you moved closer to Molly as he seemed to have such a confident aura. You got the feeling that he liked when people watched him. The entire party got stares but you couldn't help but feel like all of the eyes were trained on you.    "No worries, dear. We always get stares when we go anywhere." Molly's tail curled around your waist in a comforting gesture, "Guess you can't help it when you have green, blue, and purple members. You'll learn to get used to it. I'm sure that once you're cleaned up, they will skip right over you and look at me. I can make them all stare at me if you want, I have a talent for it."    "No, thank you. Just stay close, please." Your eyes looked up at Molly like a scared puppy. How could he say no when you were looking at him like that? His stomach twisted in a way he wasn't familiar with.    "I promise, I'll stay by your side as long as you want me there."    "Hello, we were hoping to rent out four rooms if we could," Fjord spoke to the woman behind the bar, placing two gold on the counter.    "Why of course you can darlin'. Here are the keys and they are up to the right, past the stairs and to the left."    "Do you also have a bath here?" Jester popped her head to the side of Fjord, pink eyes staring up at the woman.    "Of course. We can draw up the water and fill it now if you would like. It would be ready within the hour. Now, that would be one more silver."    Molly reached forward and placed the money next to Fjord's, smiling at the woman, "Here you go. Thank you for your work."    "We will come and get you when the bath is ready. Is that all?" -*-    You slowly dipped your feet in the warm water, enjoying how it heated up your body. The heat would shiver up your spine as your body was finally enveloped by the water. It wasn't hot enough to actually burn you but it was just at the point of making your skin feel almost numb. The water was deep enough to cover your chest, ending just below your collar bone. Your hair was down and rested outside of the bath, keeping the tangled knots from getting wet.    "Alright," Jester said as she sat down in the stool behind you," I'm gonna brush your hair since I can make sure to get all the knots and yucky bits out. Just tell me if I end up hurting you."    With a gentle hand, Hester parted your dirty hair as well as she could with how matted it was. She then took one part and used her comb to brush out the dirt, using her hand to pick out the larger obstacles. At times, she had to really tug to get through a bit. It hurt but you told her she didn't need to keep apologizing. The pain was there but it needed to happen. Even without getting your hair wet, the water was becoming slightly dirty due to your body as you scrubbed your down as much as you could with the tiefling brushing your hair.    "Do you remember your family at all? We could try taking you to them if you wanted."    "I actually don't remember anything from before. I feel like I should miss them but I just can't miss what I don't remember, you know?"    You stared at the water, dirt swirling like vines. Your hand gently followed it, fingers just barely touching the water. It tickled as you moved the water, eventually making tiny waves that dispersed back into the water. Should you feel bad because you didn't miss the family you had taken from you? Where were they even located? Did you have any siblings? You had all those questions with no way of getting the answers. They didn't even seem all that important to you. All you wanted to do was to be able to live a life without being a servant to someone.    "No, I guess not. We can be your family now. Just call me, Big Sister Jester! If you want, my mom can totally be your mom as well. She is called the Ruby of the Sea, but I'm sure you haven't heard of her since you were underground. She is like the most beautiful tiefling. People go to her and she entertains them. She makes a lot of money."    "But the group is really nice too! I'm sure you'll like them. Beau has a big wall around herself and has a hard time expressing her feelings unless you are Yasha. Nott is totally crazy but awesome. When you need to do something that may not be legal, she is the one to go to. She is like Caleb's mom, though he will never admit it. He is weird but he knows a lot."    "Does he know a lot about magic?" Your eyes glanced up, trying to see the girl behind you but only seeing the hint of her horns.    "Oh yeah! He knows a lot about a lot of things but he is really interested in magic stuff. I'm sure that he will be able to help you with all your magic bubbling inside of you. I can't really help but that, but I can help you with other stuff. Stuff like making you look so pretty." Jester picked up the mug she had gotten and used it to wet your hair. She then grabbed the soap, beginning to lather your hair with it.    "And what is Molly like?"    "Oh~" Jester giggled to herself. She had seen the way that Molly had been looking at you. It could be nothing but it seemed obvious that the purple tiefling had some need to protect you. You had seemed very small and scared when they first had seen you. With Jester's creative and romantic mind, she had hoped there was more. Perhaps she would play a little matchmaker if it seemed like either of you were interested in each other. Oh, who was she kidding, she would do that as long as she thought it would be cute.    "Well, Molly is very charming. He is very good in a fight and he is a very good person, even if he doesn't think he is." Jester's fingers scrubbed against your scalp, her nails giving just enough pressure to make it relaxing. Your eyes lazily shut as you enjoyed the moment. This felt like such a strange pleasure for you, as it was something you didn't know about. You could drift off to sleep here with how comfortable it all was.    "He seemed nice," You spoke as Jester poured water over your head once again. The water was beginning to cool but it still wasn't terrible. You were able to run your fingers through your hair now, all the knots and debris having been washed out of it. The color was darker due to how wet it was but it looked shiny when you looked at a piece.    Once you finish washing and drying, Jester allowed you to use one of her dresses and made up your hair. Looking in the mirror in the room that you were sharing with Beau and Jester, you felt like you were going to cry. You never thought you could look so pretty in your life. The dress was blue with a white top similar to a peasant top but a bit fancier. Your hair was in braids in sections while the rest rested down on your back. You truly looked like a princess.    "Oh, Jester. Thank you so much! I look so pretty!" You clapped your hands and spun to face the blue tiefling. There was such a large grin on your face. With all the dirt gone, your face seemed more lively and less sickly. The color was back on your cheeks, though your body was still a bit underfed, showing that you had been through some bad stuff. Jester had placed some safety pins around the waist to keep the dress from sliding down. Hopefully, with a good couple of meals, you would be on your way to beginning to have a stable weight. You were just happy to be alive, no matter how skinny or dirty you were.    "No need to thank me. You look so pretty under all that gunk and gross stuff. Now, let's go downstairs. The others just went down to get us a table for dinner," Jester spoke as she led you out of the room and down to the first floor. There was more chatter now and music from the bard that had arrived. A laugh broke through the chatter before being swallowed back up again. Dinner was now being served but there was now the people who simply wanted a drink or two. The Might Nein grabbed a table in the middle, surrounded by other tables. Some were filled with patrons and others were eating as well.    Everyone was seated with a barmaid setting down the plates with the same food from earlier. Caleb and Nott were next to each other, a free seat by Nott's side. The other free seat was next to Mollymauk on the edge, where someone wouldn't be to the left of you. It seemed as though they were talking about something but the conversation died out when they noticed the two of you coming down. Jester's hand rested on your back when you froze up at all the pair of eyes on you. You still weren't used to people looking at you. The girl gently pushed you forward to keep you moving toward the group.    "(Y/N), come sit by me." Molly smiled in your direction, red eyes brightening as he saw you. It was hard for you to tell where he was specifically was looking at his eyes didn't have any pupils. It would be scary if he wasn't always smiling or saying something funny. You had been surrounded by evil for such a long time that it was easy for you to tell that he was far from what his appearance may come off as. You knew there was a good soul held inside that body.    Whether you were going to sit next to Molly or not, Jester made the choice for you as she sat down next to Nott. As soon as the food was placed in front of you all, Nott began to dig in. The others began to eat a bit more slowly, making sure not to make a mess like the goblin. You yourself were a bit more timid, studying the food before you began to eat. It didn't matter what you were eating, you were merely curious about what was on your plate. It was spiced very well and everything was very warm.    "You look really nice," Molly's comment caused butterflies to go to your stomach, though you weren't sure why. Such a simple comment shouldn't make you feel this way. Perhaps it had something to do with the food, you had never felt like this before. You had no clue what this feeling as if it continued perhaps you would ask one of the girls. This could just be something normal that you weren't sure about because of being underground.    "Thank you. Jester is letting me war some of her stuff since I really don't have anything of my own."    "I'm sure that's no problem for her, she has so much money from her mom." Beau laughed, taking a swig from her mug.    "Well, you know, I'm super generous. She needs some stuff and if I'm gonna be her older sister, I have to help her with that stuff." Jester smiled at you and for the first time, you smiled back. With the time upstairs, you were becoming to form something of a friendship with the blue tiefling. She had been able to form a bond with you, proving that you had nothing to fear with her. You were grateful for all of them but they still made you a bit nervous. You wouldn't be comfortable with really any of them alone.    "You don't even know if she is younger than you or if she wants you to be her sister." Nott chuckled, shaking her head. In mere minutes, she had cleared her entire plate and was eating Fjord's leftovers. She ate like she wasn't sure where her next meal would be coming from. You could relate to that and wondered if perhaps the two of you were more alike than you thought.    "You act like Caleb's mom and you are younger than him! You can't go and judge me like that when you are totally like his mom!"    "Nott isn't my mom." Caleb shook his head.    "She does act like it though." Molly pipped in.    "That just means she cares. Everyone should have someone like that." You spoke up, hoping that you weren't taking it too seriously. You knew you didn't understand the difference between when something truly meant something to be taken seriously or if it was a joke. Tone and inflection was something that didn't really make that much sense to you.    "Thank you, (Y/N)."    It wasn't long until everyone had finished up their dinner and the plates were collected once again. Caleb pulled out one of his spellbooks to study once again. You hadn't really seen him without a book in his hands. Did he do anything to relax? Perhaps this was relaxing to him. You had a hard time enough when it came to reading, which meant studying was even harder. This was why you thought the activity couldn't be relaxing. While he read, Beau was flirting with one of the girls and Nott was off, explaining how she had seen something that she wanted to add to her collection. This left you with Molly, Fjord, and Jester at the table, though Caleb was there but he was too busy to give any of your attention.    "We should go get you a drink and celebrate!" Jester quickly stood up, giving you no time to answer before she was dragging you to the bar. You were able to hear Fjord sigh, obviously used to this side of the girl. She never meant any harm with her actions but she was very hyperactive. You had never seen someone act as Jester did. She did what she wanted and didn't seem to have any fear in her bones. She wore her confidence like a crown.    She had you sit down on one of the barstools and ordered two large ales. You had ale before as it was safer than water, but you never took more than a few sips. Apparently, it often was used during celebrations and to have a good time, to loosen up emotions and have fun. If Jester was saying you sh0ould drink it, then you would trust her this time, hoping it would be alright. It didn't take long until the drinks were brought to you in the biggest cups you had ever seen.    "Cheers to joining the Mighty Nein!" Jester grinned as she lifted her drink. It was obvious she had done this before with the ease that she lifted it up. You only rose yours and inch or two from the table due to your fear of spilling it everywhere. Once the mugs clinked against each other, the two of you drank. Jester chugged her drink, getting it half down before she needed to take a breath. On the other hand, you only have gotten about one fourth down before you wouldn't drink anymore. It wasn't a terrible taste, just like water with a bad aftertaste.    "I'm gonna totally be like the best sister ever!" Jester giggled, a hand hitting against your back before leaning back in her chair. It was hard for you to tell if she was having a reaction because of the drink or if she was just being herself. She was so strange to you, very outgoing when she had no alcohol in her system. You had no clue what she would be like when she did have some. You drank a bit slower when it came to your ale, casually drinking and chatting with her.    "Did you ever think you would get out of there?" She asked, her voice quicker than it was moments before. How had her mind shifted so quickly? Just seconds ago she was talking about the future happily before changing to speak of the past in hushed tones.    "I don't know. I had waited in the beginning, hoping that I would be saved by someone. I thought that it wasn't far and that this couldn't be happening to me, but as time passed, I began to lose hope. It began to become obvious that no one would come for me. I still had moments at night, or well, when I slept, where I would think it had to be possible to leave. I decided that it might not be possible for someone to save me and that I would have to get myself out. If no one was going to save me, then I had to save myself. I wanted more for my life than being used as a personal power booster."    "That is what is going to make you a great hero and adventurer with us. When we do stuff, one of the most important things is not just hoping that someone is else is going to do it."    "I just don't know how to fight Jester, I'm weak."    "Don't go and saw that now. I don't like liars. I saw you out there on the roads, you killed like all of those guys in one attack. That is not what I would call a weak person. Sure, you might not know how to control it but that can be dealt with. Caleb is so smart, if anyone can teach you to have to control your magic, it is going to be him. Your power is like so cool!"    "I just don't want to hurt someone I care about. It just happens when my emotions are so strong."    "Come on, another drink for us! No sad topics tonight, we are celebrating!" Hester shouted, startling you for a moment due to the quick change of her volume. You looked down at your cup to see it was empty just like Jester's. You hadn't even remembered drinking it but you must have been between talking. It was obvious due to the light warmness in your stomach and calmness in your head that you had drunk it. Even though you were talking about your past, it wasn't bothering you at all. It may have only been two days ago but it seemed so long ago in present your state of mind.    The mugs were filled again by the barkeep, collecting the money from Jester. She took no time in emptying her cup once again, cheeks turning a deeper blue. You decided to take more time in drinking yours as you could feel the alcohol beginning to set in. How much were you supposed to drink? You didn't want to drink too much but you didn't know what was enough. Jester obviously had enough for herself as she began to ramble about something called Tusked Love before getting distracted by the bard. She was gone before you knew it, leaving you alone at the bar with a fuzzy mind.    You placed your elbow against the bar, chin in your palm as you looked around the tavern. It was now filled with drunks and dancers. Laughter and chatter filled the air, everyone was relaxed and happy. Yet, here you were at the bar, left with your thoughts in a difficult place. Perhaps it was the beer or now that you were alone, the fear began to wash over you. Not a fear of being in danger but a fear of the unknown. From here, you weren't sure what was to come. There was so much that you didn't know or understand.    "Care for a chat?" A half-elf man spoke up, sitting down in the chair that Jester had been in just a few moments ago. The main was rather attractive with long silver hair. He definitely looked like he took after more in his elven heritage. The only way you could see any human in him was the small point of his ears, unlike your ears which were rather large and had a ended with a sharp point. He had a kind smile on his face and seemed to hold no ill will in his interaction. You merely were judging people based on what you knew from before, of how the drow acted as that was evil to you.    "I don't mind."    "What is someone as pretty as yourself doing up here all alone?" He leaned in your direction, his elbow resting on the bar just like yourself, mirroring your own action. His eyes seemed to scan every part of you as he spoke, his grin that of a rat. Slowly, his hand began to rest on your own that was resting again the bar table. A spark shot through you as soon as he made contact. Your body tensed, unsure of the situation you were in. Oh, how you wished Jester hadn't run off, you needed her help in understanding what was normal or not.    Why did she have to leave you? She said she would help...Your mind was spinning and you couldn't think straight. What did the man want again? You had forgotten what he had said moments before.    "My friend was here but I don't know where she went." You glanced around but the tavern was so crowded that you couldn't even see the blue tiefling. The lights seemed to be too fuzzy and the noises were getting muffled. The thought of how your magic may react to liqueur never came across your mind even as the visual of the world began to change. The edges of your vision were filled with different colors, just faerie lights. Yet, as you turned your head, the lights continued to stay in just the edge of your vision. Due to your magic, alcohol had a very strong effect on you. It was best for you not to drink, especially if you were left alone. Yet, that information was far from your mind as you hadn't learned it yet.    "I could be your friend for the night." It felt numb where his hand was as it slowly slid up, moving up your forearm. As he touched you, it felt as though he was freezing your body. You blinked, trying to fight through the fog in your brain to understand what was going on. Black waves came from the man's body, sending shivers down your spine. Whatever he wanted, it couldn't be good. You didn't like that he was touching you.    "What?"    Another hand rested on you, though this one on your lower back. Unlike the hand on your arm, this hand caused warm to spread over your skin. You knew this had something to do with your magic, like a warning system built in when your mind was foggy. A tail wrapped around your waist and rested on your thigh, expelling the hallucinated ice that was creeping up your body. As you glanced down, you were greeted by the color purple. You may be confused but just that color brought a feeling a safety over you.    "You know, I think she already has enough company for the night. Why don't you go off and find someone else to spend time with?" Molly grinned down at the man, making sure the light was enough to glint off his sharp teeth. He knew his appearance was frightening to some and he had learned to use this to his advantage. Red eyes narrowed, burning like the fire of the elemental plane. Molly lived long enough to know when someone was unwanted and while he wouldn't admit it, he had been watching you since you left his side. It simply was because you were a party member, right?    Yet, he couldn't ignore how his nails gently grazed against your back and how he pressed you against his side as he glared daggers at the man in front of you two.    The half-elf quickly moved his hand away from you, his eyes shifting from you to the devil that was now beside you. Blinking, you tried and failed to focus your gaze again. Why had the man left? Nothing seemed to be making sense to you. The only thing you knew for certain was the warmth that came from the man next to you. Your head flopped to the side to rest against the hard chest, eyes fluttering up to look Molly in the face. Had he always been that handsome?    "Darling, how much did you and Jester drink?"    "Two ales that were the size of your head..." Why did your voice sound so quiet?    "Oh, and you had never really drunk before. I'll have to talk to her about that later. For now, we should get you up to your room, how does that sound?" Molly's hands moved to rest just above your hips and began to help you stand. Your legs wobbled and you slumped against his side once again. As his hands helped to hold you up, his tail wrapped around to press against your back to help you keep your balance. Slowly, he began to lead you forward and up the stairs. In the muffle of voices downstairs, you could hear Jester's voice shouting for Fjord. None of that mattered as your body was brought closer and closer to a bed. The alcohol was beginning to make you feel very tired.    As the door shut, the two of you were left alone in the room. Beau and Jester must still be downstairs and would come up later. You flopped down on the bed, legs outstretched off the side while your head buried in the rather hard pillows. Molly grabbed your boots and took them off, placing them next to the bed. A quiet groan came from your mouth, a whimper following it as it finished. You rolled on your back, staring up at the ceiling, eyes fogging over as your thoughts began to run wild again.    Molly made sure to be a gentleman when he helped you undress and got you into the nightgown to sleep in. Even though in your sober state you would be nervous about this, your drunken self didn't care in the slightest. You would make sure not to drink this much again, which wasn't even when you had the hangover.    "Molly, please don't leave." You whimpered as he moved toward the door, "Don't leave me here alone. Come lay down with me please."    The tiefling bit his lip in thought as he walked over. He ended up laying down on top of the covers while you were under them. He wanted to give you some privacy so you wouldn't have to worry when you were remembering this in the morning. He knew this must be confusing and frightening to experience when you didn't understand how drinking affected people. He moved his arm to rest under your head, fingers gently running through your hair. He could see the tears beginning to form in your eyes and your bottom lip beginning to quiver. He worried, wondering if he had done something wrong when your quivering voice spoke up.    "I'm so scared."    "Of what? No one is going to hurt you here, we will make sure of that."    "No, I just don't understand what is going on with me and what I should do. My life before was to be used and it isn't like that anymore. I know it is better, but I'm still scared. I don't know who I am or what to do. I just want my brain to feel like it understands things again. At least down below it was easy to know what was going on and what I was supposed to do."    "(Y/N), can I tell you something?" Molly asked, slowly sitting up to rest on his free arm so he could look you in the eyes, "Two years ago, I woke up in the ground with not a single memory in my brain. I had no clue who I was or how this world worked at all. My life was entirely a blank slate. I know that fear that you are feeling right now because I've felt it myself."    "How did you make it go away?"    Molly's hand that rested in your hair descended so his thumb could lightly swipe against your cheek to get rid of a tear that had escaped from your eyes. His red eyes were filled with empathy and sadness as he stared down at your shaking body. He truly did understand more than others because he had been through it himself. He never thought he would be on the other side of his coin.    "I had friends and people who cared about me. They were there to help me and teach me everything that I needed to know. That was how I joined the circus, a job helped keep my mind busy and kept me from moments like this from happening. I promise that it will get better with time as you learn. But, remember that you have all of us to help you as well. You are not alone. We may have just met but none of us are planning on going anywhere. Caleb will be there to help you with your magic and Jester will be there to help you deal with emotions. Plus, I'm going to be right by your side with my sly grin, right?"    Molly felt successful when a small smile spread across your face as you sniffled. You rubbed your eyes, taking a few deep breathes to calm yourself down. The man traced designs on your shoulder as you calmed yourself down.    "Come now, close those eyes and get some sleep. I'll stay right here until you do and even after, my room is just one to the right next to yours." He whispered, allowing you to listen to his calm voice. He continued to trace patterns on your skin, your body pressed against his side like he would disappear if you didn't. His voice deepened as he quietly hummed out what seemed like some kind of comforting tune. As you fell asleep, you could feel the comforting rumble of his chest, sending you off into the darkness of your mind.

[criticalroleloveshots]

Exposed (Part 1)

Thank you for being so patient, and thank you for checking up on me ♥ It made my day!

Normally I wouldn’t split up requests like this, but to make sure that the blog stays active and I can write something else in the meantime (😏😉) I’m going to post this as part 1! 

-- Essek notices a final falter in your resolve the day he decides to come for dinner at the Xhorhaus. He sees it, and hopes you don't see through him, as he stares while continuing on whatever string of conversation he was in the middle of. He darts his eyes to and from you, trying to hide his concern. Your usual heartfelt and genuine demeanor was replaced with aloofness. The conversations continued but he couldn't tell what your eyes were on without feeling like he'd expose himself to you.

For the record, they were on Caleb.

Whose eyes were on Jester.

Again. 

Again.

You desperately tried not to notice. Desperately tried not to feel what Jester was feeling as you stared at her while she was talking. It was so hard to see the subtle shifts in Caleb's attention away from you and not let it hurt. You remember the first time he had shared something that he and Nott had found with her instead of you. It was a unique feel of betrayal that you weren't quite used to.

Your throat was dry when you wanted to ask about it, fingers playing with the fabric of your clothing a little too roughly as a distraction. After a few beats you quickly bee lined back to your room with a slam of your door to shake as the realization had just started to peek over the hills.

This was so much more difficult than it was just a few days ago, even though you had been watching it for weeks. Your fingers twitched as you sat with your feet in the hot tub, mimicking the body language of the others to not be found out. You would be though, it was inevitable. You had spent enough time with them for them to notice, right? They weren't even looking at you, but you knew they knew.  They had to know. Your body moved before you realized it was, excusing yourself quietly and escaping to the porch upstairs. 

You were hoping the fresh air would clear out your mind and silence the voices creeping back in, the ones you couldn't consistently silence despite practice. All it did however was bubble up sobs in your throat. The overwhelming realization that Caleb was indeed falling for Jester stung.

You had no idea how long you were out there in the cold. At some point you had collapsed against the wall between two of the doors and covered your face, tucking it into your knees.  You could hear voices start up and just as quickly stop - the door, you realized.

Essek was leaving. Good.

It was better that the night was over, you could go to bed and shut your eyes and stop the voices. Stop the out pour of emotions from Jester. Fucking, Jester! The pain in your heart pulsed again, causing you to shudder and pull your knees close to your chest.

"Well, I didn't take you to be one to hide."

What you could only describe as a splash of color washed over you, feelings unfamiliar. Peeking up from your knees you saw Essek, standing a few feet in front of you.

[maydaymadier]

Would You Look At That

Summary:  So Fjord has that Lay on Hands Ability now Ship: Fjord/Caduceus Clay Word Count: ~750 Warnings For: blood, grievous injury based on this post x

The fight had quickly taken a turn for the worse.  Caleb’s luck had run out and it seemed that his new armor had invited the universe to just try and hit him harder.  Beau was stuck with a creature that just would not go down, drawing all of her attention to it to prevent it from turning its wrath on the rest of the Nein.  Nott and Jester were shoulder-to-hip facing down the enemy but anyone could see Jester was exhausted and low on spell slots.  Wait, Caduceus!  Where was Caduceus?

Fjord snapped his head back and forth trying to find their second cleric.  Why the hells couldn’t he see him anywhere?   

“CLAY?!” rising panic pitched up his voice.

He narrowly avoided the claws slashing down at his chest by throwing up his shield.  The thing yowled in pain when he struck it with Dwueth’var.  He backhanded slapped it across the face with his shield to push it away, charging deeper into the battle to find Caduceus.  Where was he?  Where?!  The panic in his mind dug in its claws and made his heart thrum even faster in his chest.    Just waves and waves of monsters crawling out of the rift and not a hint of pink hair or green beetle armor or that warm aura that generated around him as he cast his spells.

“CADUCEUS!” He tried again

A familiarly deep scream choked by blood and smothered by the sound of cracking chitin stabbed straight through the panic clouding him.  He whipped around following the sound and Caduceus appeared, no longer invisible as the thing that had plunged its claws into his chest knocked him unconscious.  Caduceus didn’t drop straight away, his body hung limp from the monster’s claws for a moment before falling to the dry, rocky ground.

The three blasts of crackling verdant energy shot instinctively from his hand and hit their mark, “Caduceus!”

The horrible abyssal creature recoiled and retreated, battered but nowhere near defeated just smart enough to know that this wouldn’t be easy prey.  But Fjord didn’t question why the thing ran from him.  That wasn’t important.  He sheathed Dwueth’var and ran to Caduceus’s side so quickly he almost tripped on his own feet.

Blood soaked through his shirt and followed the cracks in his broken armor.  If he was breathing Fjord couldn’t tell.  His eyes hung open in an expression of numb surprise.

“Caduceus!  ‘Duceus!  Can you hear me?” They’d all gone down in battles before, they’d all taken big hits.  This wasn’t even the first time Caduceus had gone down like this.  But he couldn’t stop the new breed of fear bubbling up to the surface.

Fjord didn’t know where he got the idea from.  He didn’t know how it occurred to him to even try and do it or why he thought that doing it would do anything more than staunch the blood.  But he put both hands to the gash going through Caduceus’s chest.  

It felt like the sunset reflecting off the ocean and soaking his face and chest with warmth.  There were gulls in his ears and salt spray sticking in his hair.  The sensation washed over him, flowed through him, could feel it seep through his hands to send pins and needles up his arms.  Made a warmth distinct from Caduceus’s blood on his hands.  Please, please be safe, let him be safe.  Please, Cad, please, wake up, wake up, please wake up!  Even right now he couldn’t let himself think I can’t lose you.  Because if he let that thought take hold it would never let him go.  Fjord ignored how warm his eyes felt and the tight feeling in his chest and throat.

A hand, a hand he knew well reached up and held his cheek.

Fjord could feel himself breathing too fast and the warmth in his eyes turn to burning.  Caduceus stirred, eyes refocusing to look up at him.  A thumb brushed his cheek, and in the next second, the burning in his eyes unleashed tears.

Caduceus stared up at him, still, a dazed look in his eyes before it turned into an overwhelmingly warm smile, “Would you look at that…a miracle.”

Fjord choked down the sob with an unabashed laugh from deep in his chest.  Didn’t hesitate or double-think it when Caduceus’s hand went from his cheek to the back of his neck.  And let the relief and joy and love wash over him when he pulled himself up and kissed him.

[who-gave-atlas-a-pencil]

let me spin and excite you

Summary: In which there is a formal event, a bit of discomfort, and a good deal of dancing.

A/N: I almost missed Widomauk week ahhhhhhhh!!! This is a bit belated, but I'm trying to catch up on at least some of the prompts. This one is for Day 3 - Formal Event, and I had quite a bit of fun writing it. The title is taken from the song "May I Have This Dance" by Meadowlark, which is a hardcore widomauk song (I may have a list of these). Don't know if I'm going to catch up on all the prompts, but I'll at least try??? Either way, there should be more widomauk coming very soon. : ) 

Read on AO3

----

The collar of his shirt is choking him. Logically, Caleb knows that that is both statistically improbable and highly unrealistic, but that doesn’t change the way his skin itches uncomfortably beneath the silky fabric and the memories it brings. Attending this masquerade had been Jester’s idea for potentially finding someone who could help with their latest query, but the knowledge of how elated she’d been does little to aid the unease slipping its way up from the depths of Caleb’s mind.

This isn’t the first time he’s dressed up for a job. Back then, before the Mighty Nein, before the asylum, before everything, it had almost been common. Master Ikithon had been meticulously clean and expected the same out of his students. Whenever there had been anything resembling a public event, where Soltryce Academy had expected presentability, Ikithon had demanded perfection.

There is a flash of short brown hair at his side, a hand on his elbow. He startles and looks over to see Beauregard scrutinising him with an irritated look. “You look constipated,” she says bluntly, looking him up and down. “Everything okay? Do I need to find you a trash pile or something so you can puke?”

“Nein. I am fine. I am looking people over.”

“It’s a masquerade. What’re you gonna do, x-ray vision them?”

“Some people are less subtle than others are, Beauregard.”

“Molly doesn’t count.” As she says it, Caleb catches sight of the lavender tiefling just as he spins Jester under one arm and laughs aloud, ruby eyes flashing behind the mask of peacock feathers he’d crafted with a surprising dedication to detail over the past few days, and Jester throws her head back laughing so hard her cloak nearly slides off

The tension loosens for just a moment in Caleb’s chest before he clears his throat and tears his eyes away. “That was not my point. I am looking for a place to start so I do not have to work my way through the entire crowd making idle conversation. Chances that we will discover anything are already slim-“

“Then maybe try to just enjoy the ride or something?” Beauregard scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Gods, Caleb, not everything has to be an analysis problem. Have a little fun sometimes.” She plants her hand firmly between his shoulder blades, and before Caleb can protest he finds himself shoved forward into the dancing area, where he barely avoids colliding with a dark-haired woman as he stumbles.

A hand catches his elbow, steadying him. “That wasn’t quite graceful, darling. You alright now?” Caleb looks up to find Molly grinning, the jewelry on his horns catching in the light and throwing scattered rainbows across his face. He’s radiant like this, skin dusted with glitter courtesy of Jester’s makeup efforts, and it makes him look like he’s actually glowing.

Caleb straightens, grateful for the mask that covers at least part of his face. “Ja, danke.” He glances around Molly to give Beau a stern look, but she’s already disappeared.

Molly lets go of his elbow with a nod just as the tune changes from the merry jig it’s been to a slower number not entirely unlike a waltz, though perhaps a bit livelier. Caleb starts to look for an exit route almost immediately. Beside him, Molly grins. There is a flash of colour, and Caleb looks over just as the tiefling drops into a low, extravagant bow, glancing up through a fringe of loose purple curls that fall from behind his horns. “In that case, Mister Caleb, may I have this dance?”

A brief uncertainty stumbles its way through Caleb’s chest, something to do with the way Molly’s eyes are gleaming. He is not stupid. He knows what this means, what this feeling is, how often it comes up when he catches Molly in a particularly wonderful moment, of which he has many. What he is not certain of is if it is a good idea to pursue this. There are many people who would be happy to see his head on a pike, and even now that the group knows something of that history, the risk has not lessened.

But Molly’s eyes are beautiful like this, and the rest of him is as well. He is in his element, and lovely, and there is no way to make a graceful escape and Beauregard, damn her, is entirely right. They will likely not find anything useful tonight, so he might as well distract himself from the unwelcome memory of what things like this used to mean to him. Caleb swallows, nods shallowly, and takes Molly’s hand.

Muscle memory makes things like this easy. It has been some time since his drunken dance with Jester, and it was a good deal longer before that since the last time he attempted to waltz. There is little call for it while on the run, and he has been running for years. All the same, when he finds himself taking the lead after only a moment of hesitation, the action feels natural, easy.

“You’re pretty good at this, you know.” Molly ducks his head just slightly, his smile easy in the minimal space between them. “You practice a lot?”

“I used to. I am, ah, a bit rough on the finer points.” His feet smoothly slip into the promenade step and Molly follows easily. “It has been some time.”

“You could have fooled me. I think you’re wonderful.”

Caleb nearly misses a step before catching himself. Sensing that the mask is no longer fully hiding his flushed cheeks, he fixes his gaze over Molly’s shoulder, though the man is only marginally less stunning in his periphery, clearing his throat and ducks his head. “Danke.”

“Bitte.” Caleb’s eyes shoot back toward Molly, whose grin only broadens.

“You’ve learned Zemnian.”

“Bits and bobs. You speak it quite a bit.” Molly twirls beneath Caleb’s arm, and the loose fabric of his flashy attire twirls vibrantly in the air. “You’re the one I keep picking it up from.”

Caleb raises an eyebrow. “You have never asked what any of it means.”

“Context is a wonderful thing, Mister Caleb. Especially when it means I can pick up swear words in other languages.” He winks one heavily made-up eye. “Don’t think I haven’t put two and two together to come up with what schiesse means.”

Caleb flushes again and inclines his head in brief concession. “Ja, that is fair. I am sorry I have not picked up Infernal in the same way.” He’s been meaning to find books on it, because both Molly and Jester speak the language and it somehow keeps coming up, but he hasn’t found the time or resources recently to actually follow the idea to fruition.

“Oh, no need to fuss about it. How do you say it? Nine problems?”

“Kein problem,” Caleb corrects, and laughs softly. “You are close.”

“And you are clever, so if you’ve got all those brilliant spells and gods-know how many languages already rattling around that mind of yours, you don’t need to worry about sticking Infernal up there too.” There is a softness in Molly’s eyes, and a hint of implaceable sadness behind the edges of his smile that disappears so quickly Caleb thinks he’s imagined it.

He looks away again and clears his throat. “You are also clever, Mister Mollymauk. You, ah, think quite quickly in conversations.”

“Circus had to keep me around for something. I’ve got the devil’s tongue, y’know. Comes in handy now and then.” Molly pokes Caleb where his hands are resting on his side, and Caleb smiles again, if only briefly.

With a few final notes, the waltz fades. Applause erupts from the dancing crowd, and over all of it Caleb can hear as Jester and Nott both cheer too loudly to be entirely appropriate. A fondness bubbles gently in his stomach as he gives a bow to Molly and prepares to slip away, only for the tiefling to catch him by the elbow again as the music picks up with a lighter, quicker tune. “One more round for fun?” he asks, and even though Caleb is smart enough to know better he agrees anyway, letting Molly take the lead this time as they make their way in clumsy patterns across the dance floor.

They narrowly evade stepping on the foot of some noble individual or another, but Molly seems unperturbed. As they half skip and step their way in circles, Caleb finds himself nervously calculating the million ways he is likely to end up injured in the next few minutes and is not entirely fond of the results. “Are you certain you know this dance?” he asks breathlessly.

Molly laughs aloud, and the sound reverberates through the space between them, making Caleb’s stomach churn. “Oh, this one I’m making up entirely as I go. Fun, isn’t it?” He grins and pulls Caleb closer for a quick spin that nearly knocks him off his feet before he finds himself caught by a heavily-tattooed purple arm. “See, you’re a natural.”

I am going to be ill, Caleb doesn’t say, and Molly pulls him closer for another promenade. They pass by Jester as she drags Fjord through a similarly nonsensical dance, and even in the split second they are close Caleb can see her elation. It is worth any discomfort he has experienced as a result of old memories, and so is this – dancing with Molly, watching him laugh, watching him revel in life and light with that grace which comes so naturally to him even here in the stuffy ballroom of some noble in Tal’dorei as the music swings to a close a second time and Molly sweeps his feet from under him, dipping Caleb low to the ground.

Caleb freezes, looking up at Molly, the glow in his eyes, the flush to his cheeks. The peacock mask on his face makes his skin look deeper, even more vibrant than normal, and his grin is radiant. Silhouetted by the light overhead, he looks like an angel, something fallen from one of the books he had studied Celestial out of so many years ago. Their eyes lock and there are no words between them, and Molly is beautiful and Caleb loves him, loves him more than he can say, more than he deserves.

Molly straightens, and Caleb’s feet return to the ground beneath him. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Molly ruffles Caleb’s hair, long fingers tangling in the curls as he draws a strand forward to rest over Caleb’s mask and gives it a light tug. “Come see me again if you’re up for another go,” he says, and gives Caleb’s hand another squeeze. There is a kiss on his brow, and then Molly is gone, disappearing across the dance floor to where Yasha is holding a squirming Nott who, from all appearances, seems to be intent on swimming in the elaborate fountain of wine that sits near the rest of the refreshments.

Caleb stares after him long and hard, his cheeks flushing, and when he looks to his hands he sees it – a bright, blue-green peacock feather woven between his fingers. Come see me again if you’re up for another go, Molly says in his mind, and for the first time, Caleb does not feel himself suffocating in a shirt that is too tight and too formal and too full of bad memories. Instead, he finds himself smiling, just slightly, as he tucks his feather into a pocket on his vest and makes his way across the room to pour himself some wine.