#tagging spoilers for echoes of the solstice

[blorbologist]

Trick or Treat, Empire Siblings, Chains

Trick or treat! I'm personally unsure which this one qualifies as, but chains can be tricky to work with!

--

“Do you ever think about the manacles?” Beau says, just above the tower’s purring thrum. 

Caleb glances up, places his novel (Feather Leather, finally tracked down what that barkeep had been reading) on the sidetable. Jinx and Ruth will see to it’s return to the bookshelf. 

She says it casually, not looking at him, playing with the chain of a bracelet around her wrist. A recent gift from Yasha, with peculiar flowers preserved in its charms. But the words ran from her lips, an old habit never beaten from her by tutor or adventure, and Caleb would not be her friend to be flippant about it.

He does, nonetheless, have to wrack his mind for it. “The manacles? Like -”

“The manticore,” Beau says. “The - uh, fuck - something with the marrow? Could have sworn we came across them a few other times too.”

Caleb nods. “The Angel of Irons.” Now her eyes meet his, the blue of new shadows. “The Chained Oblivion.”

She hums, throwing her legs over the arms of her chair, perfecting the clumsy embrace. Keep her from kicking, nervous habit. Almost, almost touches the scar on her chest, where she was run through in that god’s name in a church. Gestures instead, to put the energy to use. “Yeah, that.

“I just… most of those were broken. Like, the things escaped, or were busted out. And now Trent…”

Beauregard, he realizes, is looking at his wrists. The thin shards of scar tissue peering from beneath his sleeves. 

At where Trent had thick iron bands splayed over weak flesh, not for the security of them but the symbolism. For him to be in shackles before trial, hands glued to forever supplicate for mercy he had never provided. 

“I dunno,” she says. “Maybe we shouldn’t have expected chains to work. Hasn’t in all the times we’ve run into them.”

Caleb hums. 

Maybe they should have burned Trent alive, so he could feel as a boy’s parents and cat had. Or fed him sweet cyanide, as Astrid’s mothers enjoyed. Or strangle him, of air and hope and life, and see Eadwulf’s face to the last. Or keep him to a chair and implant terrible things to him, or send him from his home to die against those he thought monsters when none - no dragon, no city, no god - could rival.

But he is not, and never was, the man to do that. To be as his teacher was. Besides, to many a wizard death can be but an escape. The ailing body was more a prison than any chains. 

(In the back of his mind, in the knowledge of the moon hanging low and bloodhungry, he hopes this of the Chained Oblivion.)

He lets the thought lie, plucks another from the shelf: “Well. One of your wife’s epithets is Chainbreaker, so I suppose it’s something we are to stick to, hm?”

Beau leans fack back. “I forgot about that.” 

And then her eyebrow cocks, readying for a blow: “Speaking of… hey, remember when we rocked up to the Bright Queen in full BDSM gear? And Essek was there? Remember, Caleb?”

He sighs. No, he did not forget about that.

🎃Trick or Treat! Send me an ask and you'll get a trick (angst) or treat (fluff) ficlet in return! 🎃

[sparring-spirals]

Jester follows Caleb in, dutifully, loyally, ready to fight on his behalf, of course. Of course. And Fjord balks, a little, everyone hesitates, for a moment. But she was always going to go in. She was always going to go in. How could they let Caleb go in there alone, facing Trent, facing his undead parents? Facing his worst fear, his worst guilts, his worst enemies. She follows him in.

How could they let Caleb go in there alone? With just his parents, with Trent. With just his parents, almost the same but not quite, speaking and moving, with Trent and his poison honeyed words. Facing his worst guilt, and a twisted form of forgiveness, and something he has been aching for but cannot have. She follows him in, because she loves him, because she wants to protect him, because shes sorry he has to face this. Because she. Is sorry.

She follows him in, because Jester is always willing to do what is needed to protect the people that are hers. Jester is always willing to do what she has to do to protect her people, whatever that looks like.

Jester follows him in, and looks at him and says- I'm so sorry. And casts Turn Undead.

[captainofthetidesbreath]

I keep looking at Sprinkle in the new art and just mentally adding a loading animation next to his head because his expression is just so DELIGHTFULLY empty. Sprinkle is, finally, just vibing.

[wizard-hubris]

Okay but what if - BUT WHAT IF - (and please note that I say this in a kicking-my-feet-twirling-my-hair-kind of way and not as too serious speculation) the next M9 reunion is gonna be a heist style visit to Xhorhas to break Essek out of trouble? What then??

(Like...we don't know how long Trent had time to fuck around and actually spread the word if he intended for that to be more than a threat...yeah he expected Caleb in the evening but also he was an incredibly powerful wizard. If Caleb can pop around all across the continent so can he, probably)

(But also please the amount of plotbunnies all the different possibilities are giving me........)

(Also also I know Matt's final words were probably meant to nod to Bells Hells but do they mean we're gonna get more M9 involvement in the solstice aftermath? As NPCs or otherwise? Because pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease I misses these assholes so much <3 )

(Edit: NO BUT WHAT IF THE NEXT M9 REUNION IS THE WEDDING????? JESTER CAN'T HAVE A WEDDING WITHOUT HER JESTIE THERE!! ALSO PLEASE WE NEED ANOTHER WEDDING ONESHOT)

[y-avann-a]

Look, it's the Mighty Nein!

and I packed them all neatly into a tiny box

digital painting (Krita, Gaomon M10K)

[pleasantmsp]

I love Beauyasha so much. I miss them so much.

The reunion gave me so much joy and now I'm in this weird happy but melancholy state. I love the Nein so much and I want more of them. And I especially want more of Beau and Yasha. If we get a Fjorester wedding one shot, I will be stoked. But then also give me the Beauyasha wedding too!

I'm really just hoping they keep doing these little reunions cause I love the Mighty Nein so much and seeing them makes me so happy.

[bravest-notts]

guest any% speedrun

[genspiel]

me, with hair down to my waist: maybe i should cut my hair short...?

me, after seeing level 20 caduceus with hair down to his waist: maybe i should not cut my hair short

[agueforts]

MATT'S OUTFIT IS GIVING VIKTOR ARCANE

[kouichikimura]

I hope they start with the Empire Kids pov so we know where they were dropped off.

[blorbologist]

Treat: Beau/Yasha/a follow-up to that 'open the relationship' comment (Imodna? Other M9 Members?)

Treat! Sike, I was thinking of someone completely different <3

--

“Just one - give us a minute.”

Beau does probably the stupidest thing she could and leaves their - third? their guest? their enemy? - in the living room and drags Yasha into the hall. Which is hot, because Yasha only gets dragged anywhere when she lets her, and there’s something about the number of times they’ve done this only to end up with one pressed against the wall that triggers her muscle memory and - nope. Focus. 

“Babe,” says Beau, empathetically. Because babe, what the fuck, but she’s not going to say that to her wife. But she’s thinking it. 

Babe, what the fuck?!

“Baby,” and Yasha says it that gentle sort of confused. “You wanted to - we talked about opening the relationship, right? Is she… y’know. Not your type?”

“No, it’s - yeah, no, I did say that.” 

“‘Cause she’s mine,” rumbles Yasha, less a whisper and more an echo. “I mean - she’s very- you know. Hot. Very hot.”

Can’t help but agree with that. Holy shit, what an understatement! “Very hot.”

Deep breaths. In the nose, out the mouth. Yasha is pouting, just a bit, which is making this - why is her wife the hottest ever?

“I did, I did,” Beau says. And then, in a whisper she knows the fucking wizard-asasssin ex of her best friend will hear:

“But - of all the chicks in Wildemount - Astrid?? Really?!?!”

🎃Trick or Treat! Send me an ask and you'll get a trick (angst) or treat (fluff) ficlet in return! 🎃

[hexusproductions]

Is that fucking Daniel Sloss?!?????

[sapphireswimming]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Campaign 2 (Mighty Nein) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jester Lavorre & Caleb Widogast, Fjord/Jester Lavorre (mentioned) Characters: Jester Lavorre, Caleb Widogast Additional Tags: One Shot, Gen Work, Campaign 2 (Critical Role), Episode: The Mighty Nein Reunion: Echoes of the Solstice (Critical Role), post-episode, Widogast's Nascent Nein-Sided Tower, Friendship, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Caleb Widogast's Backstory, Sad Caleb Widogast, Caleb Widogast Needs a Hug, Jester Lavorre Gives Good Hugs, Jester Lavorre & Caleb Widogast Friendship, Artist Jester Lavorre

Timeline: Set right after The Mighty Nein Reunion: Echoes of the Solstice, with spoilers through all of Campaign 2 and also through Campaign 3 episode 51: The Apogee Solstice.

Summary: Jester apologized before the fight began, but once doesn't feel like enough.

[excusemeaminute]

OK but the hilarity that was sam and his glittery mustache in the background of any close up of laura was a personal highlight of mine for the Wembley show

[gorgynei]

WOOO OK LETS GO.

[all-thestories-aretrue]

The liveshow was INCREDIBLE. I think I want to liveblog my rewatch when it's uploaded. I miss liveblogging.