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Fandom: Critical Role (Campaign 2) Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast Characters: Essek Thelyss, Caleb Widogast, Jester Lavorre, Uraya Hythenos, Beauregard Lionett, Devexian Tags: Aeor Is For Lovers, Developing Relationship, Slow Burn, Wizard Study  Sessions, The Aeor trip but with twists, Character Growth, Demisexual Essek Thelyss, Worldbuilding Warnings: Canon-typical violence Summary:

Two  wizards venture into Aeor - and find that something has woken in the  dead city’s depths. Something dangerous. Something that will force them  to decide what their pasts mean to them, and what they mean to each  other.

Chapter Eighteen: Fortune's Favour

Five months after their journey to Aeor, Caleb invites Essek to Rexxentrum.

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Thinking about Caleb and how so much of his story ends with him finding meaning in the temporary.

He spent so long chasing a way to bring his parents back, but in the end he had to accept that they were gone. They were temporary. He has his memories of them now, but that’s all. And he has to find peace with that and find a way to remember them fondly, even though they’re gone now, truly and completely.

He and Essek love each other dearly, but there will come a day when he will have lived his life and grown old and Essek will still be Essek. But even so, every moment they spend together is still meaningful. Even if it ends, it means something.

Just. Caleb and loving things even when they won’t last. Maybe because they won’t last.

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Class is almost drawing to its midpoint anyway, which means his students will soon clear out to get lunch and he will have some quiet time. He brought the latest romance novel Essek has finished and passed along with him today. Perhaps he’ll dig into that while he’s alone. Plans set, he reaches for his bag to draw the book and his lunch free. He finds the book but of food he comes up sorely empty-handed. Caleb forgets to make himself a lunch for a day of teaching at Soltryce. Luckily, he has a husband to notice such mistakes and help correct them.

The fics continue! Tonight I bring you some classic fluffy, sappy, uber in love Shadowgast :3 basically I reread the last chapter of of blossoming hearts and glittering souls and missed my fluffy boys and then wrote 3k about it. I hope you enjoy!

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the chibi saga continues

i think not drawing chibi shadowgast after drawing chibi Essek and chibi Caleb would have been considered a felony somewhere

tip jar!

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starting off my shadowgast kiss meme with a cheek kiss 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Essek was the leader of the cheek kiss poll for a good while, but right at the end Caleb took off and won by just ten votes! the whole poll made me think that i can easily picture Essek defaulting to cheek kisses rather than kisses on the lips as an expression of romantic affection, and i also chuckled a bit at the thought that Caleb going for a demure cheek kiss rather than some mouth-on-mouth action when they said goodbye at the Grove might have even scored him some brownie points with Essek 🤭

also while i was working on this one i was reminded of the first shadowgast picture i ever drew, which was also Caleb kissing Essek on the cheek! it was very fun to compare the two and see that the way i draw the wizards hasn't changed much at all. i really had a clear picture of them in mind from the start didn't i LOL

tip jar!

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shadowgast kiss meme: hair/head kiss ✨

the key to Essek's peaceful nighttime reading is tiring his young man out with wizardly activities enough for said man to fall asleep in the middle of some cuddly kisses : )

tip jar!

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It’s not even three weeks after the Circle of Amber’s assignment in Hallowharbor concludes that Yussa comes knocking on their door again, interrupting Essek in the middle of baking. “There’s been an incident,” he says as he steps into the living room, not having bothered to take his coat off. Essek sighs, already beginning to untie the apron he’d been wearing. “Of course there has, you never visit with good news. What happened?” Essek's Circle—the Circle of Pearl—is assigned a new case: discover the nature of and locate the fiend summoned by a film star. Things don't go as planned.

At last, my Shadowgast Candela Obscura AU is done! I have had such a fun time writing it and I hope you enjoy it even halfway as much I have it 💜 and, if you haven't already, have a look at my tag if you want some extra lore for Caleb and Essek, plus some adorable art of them!

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[shovel talk]

He was wearing a large sunhat and sunglasses that fit poorly to his whole image, and he had tucked his hands into his loose sleeves, as was his habit. He was smiling now because Astrid made him uncomfortable. Astrid is surprised when Essek seeks her out for a conversation.

a birthday gift for @callingvoicemail!! happy birthday bestie 🥰

Rating: T Relationships: Astrid Beck & Essek Thelyss, background Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast and Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve Characters: Astrid Beck, Essek Thelyss Words: 1378 Posted: 2 April 2024

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FICLET FRIDAY - Little and Lost

Prompt: Glow | Rating: G | CW: none | Word count: 533 | Pairing: Shadowgast

Essek’s knees were dirty.

That is the first thing Caleb noticed. On a normal day such a detail would be worth no mind; they have a garden at this cottage after all, and Essek is rather fond of giving it tender care. However, Essek is usually fastidious about changing from his garden clothes before winding up the stairs and through the hall into the library by the bedroom. No dirt should be tracked from door to bed, as Essek had phrased himself, and usually the worst of the green thumb is left in the laundry basket downstairs for this exact purpose.

But today Essek’s knees are stained, and hovering a good five inches higher than they should.

“Caleb, you must come!” Essek’s eyes and voice are sunbright, rushing into the library to float before Caleb. “You must see!”

“Schatz, what–” He glances around for an adequate bookmark, and finding nothing proper, just picks up the cat on his lap with one arm, the book with the other, then sets the cat onto the open book on his still-warm chair. A fluffy tail is a fine bookmark in a pinch.

Essek grabs his hand. “There is something very strange, but intriguing. I’m not sure, but maybe you know? I hope it hasn’t moved while I’ve been here, I came quickly but without observation there is no telling how fast it moves.”

Caleb feels his hand being tugged down the hall and stairs. “I am right behind you schatz.” He laughs to himself, almost jogging through his own house to follow the bounce of Essek’s sudden jubilant mood.

Once outside, Essek drops his hand and sinks to kneel in the dirt near one of the bushes along the edge of the path. He looks to Caleb over his shoulder and Caleb falls in love all over again.

“Look.” He whispers, hands slow even without the aid of dunamancy, gently parting the branches to peer deeper inside. “What is that?”

Caleb sighs looking at his soft lounging trousers, and gets to his knees anyways. That’s what prestidigitation magic is for. “What should I be looking for?”

Even as the words leave his lips he sees it: there is a gentle glow, like a moonray trapped in the green clutches of the inner bush, shining only as far as the thick leaves allow. He squints to focus, and can just spot the small form sitting on the branch.

“It looks like a glow worm, but surely not?” Essek asks.

Caleb lets out a soft exhale. “It certainly looks like one, but here? Surely not.” He repeats.

“Perhaps he is very lost.” Essek says, voice still and soft. “Perhaps he cannot find his home.”

Caleb can’t help but look away from the marvel and towards another. “Essek.” There are layers to the single word. He does not know, but can guess at Essek’s thoughts.

Essek seems to sense the shift in tone. “Do not worry Caleb, I won’t adopt this one.”

“You said that for the last three cats.” Caleb knocks fondly against Essek’s shoulder, imitating a cat himself.

“We don’t have a terrarium.” Essek replies with a frown.

“As if that has ever stopped you.” Caleb smiles.

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@notsoangrybabsarts prompted me to draw cuddling wizards 💜🧡

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What are Eesek and Caleb doing RIGHT NOW? (wrong answers only)

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Imagine if Ludinus was harvesting stuff from Aeor at the same time as the canon-implied Shadowgast date returning there. They never see each other but Caleb gets sneezing fits and insists the air is "fouler" in the direction of Ludinus (this is a joke)

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Listen, I did not survive the Shadowgast trenches of "Caleb's in love with somebody else" and "Essek's a toxic war criminal" and "We're gonna have to punish him" to let something as small as Dorym's whole "one half of this obviously-in-love pair is absent from the table for over two years" deal deter me from faithfully shipping, and goddamn I know my faith is about to be so richly rewarded (Aabria ilu so much queen but don't you DARE kill Dorian Flute-Tootin' Storm at this crucial hour).

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“Can’t sleep?” Caleb’s drowsy voice makes Essek’s heart stumble over itself, both smitten and guilty. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” “You didn’t,” Caleb hauls himself up as well and recasts his lights, though dimmer than before. “I cannot either.” The wizards bed down for the night in the dome, but neither manages to fall asleep. They talk (and flirt) instead.

Another ficlet from my backlog! Tonight, some good old-fashioned wizardly softness and flirting in Aeor! I hope you enjoy!

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Some light wizardly reading after a tiring day of teleporting a band of misfits across Wildemount 😌

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"What happened to the two, the wizard and the monk?"

"Probably dead."

(meanwhile, after multiple failed teleportations & one broken collar)

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[ID: A digital drawing of Caleb Widogast and Essek Thelyss from Critical Role. Essek is putting a small plant into a plant pot that Caleb is holding out for him. Essek is wearing a purple shirt with the sleeves rolled up, an apron, rose patterned gardening gloves, and a straw hat. Caleb is wearing a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up. Essek is focused on the plant and Caleb is looking at Essek and smiling. End description.]

A kofi doodle request for @jamieylnn!!