#widojest dance

[belligerentbagel]

widojest 3: closing night (last dance) 🩰

rehearsal day one (first dance)

[widobravely]

WIDOJEST FOREVER

As many longtime followers of this blog may know, I am the BIGGEST fan of the Widojest song Major Illusion by @tinylilemrys. That song changed something in me, just as Widojest completely changed the landscape of, like, my entire brain space. As it is.

Anyway, because I love Major Illusion and Widojest so much, I wrote an answer (parallel?) song called Polymorph, from Jester's perspective 🥺💙

Lyrics under cut.

There’s a warmth in your eyes that I

Have been seeing more often

Like the grief that you carry

Has begun to soften

And I would cast a spell if I could

To always bring you joy, to always keep your hope

The faith you have in me

I return entirely

And I don’t think you see

That as you’re trying to change the world

You have set mine awhirl

So I follow you into the sky

And to the sea, and through the night

The windows of my heart flung wide open

My masks melting in the firelight

I have waited all my life

To be the love interest

Girl in a tower’s meant for a prince

She’s not the protagonist

But you follow me into the sky

And to the sea, and through the night

The windows of my heart flung wide open

And as you transform with me

Your faith is transforming me

My insecurities do not freeze me

My masks melting in the firelight

In firelight

You are the fire

Where I am safe

And because you kept faith in me

I make miracles

And we dance together in the sky

And in the sea, and through the night

The windows of my heart flung wide open

And as you transform with me

Your faith is transforming me

My insecurities do not freeze me

My masks melting in your firelight

[cantshinebrighterthanyou]

Signing on to post my @widojestsecretsanta for @el-huddpudd :D You gave such a lovely and interesting prompt and it was a real joy to re-imerse myself in widojest feels again!

Summary:

With anyone else, she would protest. But I wasn’t alone, I had the Traveler with me the whole time. It’s on the tip of her tongue, well-practiced. But it hadn’t been the whole time and she had been alone, carving dicks into hallways, pressing her ears to the walls and living in books and drawings and in overheard whispers and her own imagination. But it’s Caleb here with her in the kitchen under the dancing lights. They keep things from each other, but they don’t hide feelings. Caleb decides to make Zemnian Winter's Crest cookies and Jester is the only one who sticks around to help.

[utilitycaster]

The Beaujester/Widojest stuff actually reminds me of why I almost wasn't on board with Fjord/Jester at first - I really don't like ships where it feels like one party has to wear down the other, and at first, I thought that was the vibe. So I get really stumped on why people are pushing for closure here. It reminds me of that wild d&d court case. Why would they needlessly burden their friend (Jester) with this information? What do fans think would happen after???

Hi anon,

You are 100% right in that I also think of that D&D Court Case (for those wondering, it's the one that starts here and basically, a couple is playing in a D&D game together and the DM some time ago confessed drunkenly to the player who is writing in that he has feelings for the player's girlfriend...and is now romancing her in-game as an NPC). Like, for real, keep that to yourself! It's so awkward and for what! Tell your therapist! Tell other friends outside this social circle! Do some weird art about it! Have weird feelings! But do not say that to the actual couple involved, holy fuck.

It would require someone with far more knowledge of fandom history to back up my hunch here, so I am presenting it as just a hunch, but it feels like there has been a very heavy drive in the past maybe five or six years towards, rather than "oh man, I wish this ship had happened instead, and here are my AUs and fics in which it did" to "here's why the story is BAD and UNRESOLVED and WRONG." And I don't quite know how it came to be, since internet forums have been around for quite some time, and maybe I'm just clueless because I have come relatively late to every social media ever and it was always like this and the volume has just increased. My personal theory is that people saw all those quirky letter writing campaigns of the 2000s and didn't realize that mailing potato chips or whatever to an NBC exec who was cutting the show because it wasn't getting enough viewers by metrics that were well behind current technology and who would see this and say "oh, shit, this has fans, maybe we can make money off it" is very different than writing hate mail to actual creators, but I could be totally wrong.

But anyway, it is pretty apparent that Uk'otoa was left unresolved! Travis actually had laid the groundwork in-character as Fjord (the bounty hunter hire for Sabian, telling Jester in 2x117 he wanted to deal with Uk'otoa before other things) to return, but it made sense for the show to end after Aeor. Meanwhile, it's not unresolved for someone to quietly nurse a crush, and I'd argue, actually, that both Beau and Caleb's feelings were largely resolved in show. Beau outright told Fjord that she'd had a crush on Jester, but her feelings for Yasha were deeper and more real (and in general this tracks with Beau's repeated self-sabotage when things felt too good to be true). And if you take off the Widojest shipping goggles, it's hard to see Caleb's actions following the party's return from Rumblecusp as anything but quietly admitting that this is not going to happen, as he pushes Jester to dance with Fjord and finally tells her about his past. The goal post of "resolved" secretly means "the preferred ship happens instead."

And then no one ever has an answer for what happens after. Does Beau break up with Yasha? Does the entire scene in Aeor with Essek in 141 - absolutely pivotal, despite coming so late, to Caleb's arc - just not happen, because you really cannot read that as anything but romantic? Does Jester break up with Fjord? How do we reconcile that Jester does not wish to live in Rexxentrum as a housewife, and does want to continue to see the world and be able to regularly spend lots of time in Nicodranas? Do Caleb or Beau make even the slightest concession to Jester's wants and needs, in this fantasy?

I guess I'll wrap this up with this thought: I think that Beau and Caleb's romantic feelings for Jester and how they deal with them are very well played by Marisha and Liam and are incredibly important - indeed, crucial - to understanding their respective character development. But that's the thing in the end. The romantic feelings are deeply important to the stories of Beau and Caleb. They are a footnote on the story of the Mighty Nein. And they are utterly irrelevant to the story of Jester.

[agentmintea]

Widojest Week 2022 Day 3: First Dance / Last Dance

grow old with me

[quantummindclassicalheart]

Master post of quantum's Critical Role fic

You can now find me on AO3 as FiveCamellia! I will be gradually archiving older fic there. Various other things I’ve written including scicomm stuff and poetry live in my general #writing tag, feel free to check it out! For scicomm specifically, check out my #quantum talks quantum tag.

(This is a repost of my old pinned post, but with the new post format.)

a dream within a dream (AO3, Tumblr. New! Completed 2023/01/21.) > When the fog of Rumblecusp steals away Caleb’s memories, Jester must help him remember. But this time, it’s going to take a little more than a fifth-level spell slot. For Widojest Secret Santa 2022.

The Lovers’ Lie (original song) > There is an old folk song that is sung in Exandria.  It goes by a lot of titles–In Marquet it’s commonly known as The Liar’s Love, while natives of Xhorhas would know it as The Fey Groom, and the elves of Syngorn’s version has a title that translates to “The Sacrifice of Truth for Love.” This is one bard’s rendition of the song in Common, as accompanied by ukulele.

verbal and somatic (AO3) > In which Jester has a creative idea for how to use the Polymorph spell, and with a truly heroic effort (and the benefit of War Caster), Caleb succeeds on a series of concentration checks with increasingly high DC. (AKA: Widojest body swap sexy times.) (Post-campaign, established relationship AU.)

a soft place to land (AO3) > A few years after their travels with the Mighty Nein, Caleb and Jester reunite for the summer and kinda sorta fall in love all over again. (Post-campaign, as the summary suggests, but more or less canon-compliant)

a dream of flight (AO3) > My first Loquaerryn fic, about their first dance (and what comes after). Laerryn is used to taking the lead, but when she meets Loquatius Seelie, he challenges everything she knows about following.

rainy days and twisting braids > Yasha braids Beau’s hair, and softness follows. For Beauyasha Week 2022 Day 2: Hair. (Takes place post-campaign.)

like it’s the last time > A Widojest epilogue “missing scene,” i.e. the final conversation Caleb and Jester never got in canon. It’s the night before Fjord and Jester leave Nicodranas, and the Nein are throwing a party. Everything should be great. Except Caleb’s been distant lately, and Jester wants to know why. (Takes place during the Campaign 2 finale, roughly.)

waves of memory > A short Shadowgast piece based on some merperson!Essek AU art.

we must all tend our gardens > A character study of everyone's favorite drow hotboi and his complicated relationship with faith, as told through gardening. (Takes place during the Campaign 2 finale.)

[podfic] Die Smaragdwelle (Jade_Sabre) > A reading of Die Smaragdwelle, a fairy tale about a princess swallowed up by an emerald wave and the wizard who had to find her. (Featuring my vocal impressions of all the Mighty Nein.)

und andere Zemnische Volksmärchen > What if things had gone just a little differently post-Katzenprinz? (Fluff. Fluff is what happens.) For Widojest Week 2021 Day 6: Der Katzenprinz.

four-and-a-half waltzes of caleb widogast > A series of vignettes in which Caleb shares four dances with four of the most important people in his life, and learns to embrace the magic of possibility. (Spoilers for all of Campaign 2, minus the finale.)

the divine transmutation of the self > In which magic changes Veth, and Veth changes her mind about magic. (Spoilers through C2E97)

drawn together > Making stuff for (and with) the people you care about is a love language. In which Beau decides to learn how to draw, and also learns a few other things along the way. (Takes place sometime post-C2E111) 

a taste of summer > In which Caleb’s hidden talent for baking and Jester’s love of sweets collide in the best possible way. (Takes place sometime post-C2E111) 

sunrise over eiselcross > A little scene between Fjord and Jester from the morning after their big conversation in C2E118.

you're still there > Beau has a nightmare about a path not taken. Yasha’s there to help her through it. Cuddles ensue. (Takes place sometime post-C2E111)

disguise selves > An AU where Caleb and Jester are (human) roommates, preparing for a Halloween costume party over Zoom. Jester being Jester, she insists on a photo shoot in costume. Everything goes better than expected. (no spoilers)

the nature of possibility > Two things possessed me to write this: the concept of including some actual thermodynamics in a fic about dunamancy, and the idea of hand contact during a spellcraft lesson. What ensued was nearly a thousand words of Shadowgast. (Takes place sometime post-C2E77)

an unnatural tide > Caleb doesn't normally forget things. But Rumblecusp isn't a normal island. What did he forget that last morning? Here's my best guess. (Spoilers for C2E105)

[widojestweek]

widojest week 2022 dates and prompts

Hello! We're excited to announce the dates and prompts for widojest week 2022!

This year widojest week will be taking place July 10th to July 16th. The prompts for each day will be as follows:

Sunday (July 10th): Sketching /Journaling Monday (July 11th): “If You Survive and I Don’t” / Sacrifice Tuesday (July 12th): First Dance / Last Dance Wednesday (July 13th): Post-Canon AU or Free Choice Thursday (July 14th): Fake Dating/Fake Parents or Lifting Each Other Up (Emotionally or Physically) Friday (July 15th): What Happens in the Magnificent Mansion Stays There Saturday (July 16th): Wedding

While each day has more than one prompt, feel free to pick only one or incorporate both if you'd like! All type of media (ex. fan art, fanfic, music, cosplay, etc.) is welcome.

Please be sure to tag your content #widojestweek2022 on tumblr and twitter to make it easier to find and share.

We look forward to seeing what you all create!

[youcancallmekathyp]

What’s your favorite line(s) or scene(s) that you have written?

Are there words, phrases, mannerisms or scenes you tend to use a lot?

What’s a fic idea that you have but haven’t written yet?

(yet another) fanfic writer ask game!

What’s your favorite line(s) or scene(s) that you have written?

I am actually a lot like you in that department, haha. I don't think I can think of a favorite line off the top of my head, because I feel incredibly cringey about going back to read my own stuff. But there's many scenes I loved writing recently

Davey&Jack finally kissing in 'Room For Us' ( because I've had this sequel in my head for years )

The Ring of Brass memories in "'Til Forever Falls Apart'

Jester&Molly in 'What If We Rewrite The Stars"

Hermione&Fred getting closure at the end of "In Case You Don't Live Forever"

Every piece by Lady Whistledamn in "It Started With A Whisper"

Harry&Hermione recreating the photo where his parents are dancing in "Wait For Me"

Are there words, phrases, mannerisms or scenes you tend to use a lot?

Definitely. I can't name them all, but I think this is just something that happens when you write a lot, you develop your own style and your favorite words. I also do like the clichés, and at the same time i hate it, because whenever I use them, there's that tiny voice in the back of my head that reminds me of how people make fun of the phrases ( you know, releasing a breath you didn't even know you were holding" etc ) and I also need to take a moment to convince myself that it's okay to write these things.

What’s a fic idea that you have but haven’t written yet?

too many. there's a whole list of things I keep in my phone that I haven't gotten around to finishing

Widojest AU based on a book I've recently read

A Vex/Percy/Kiki College AU

A Sheldon&Penny AU based on something that came up in a one shot about them I'm dying to write some Reynolds/Brimsley from Queen Charlotte, too

Still very much wanna do that Dorian/Lauda ( Bells Hells ) Disneyland AU

( tagging you @andrewknightley because you had the same question about favorite scenes/lines! <3 )

[kaptainkit]

Trent Ikithon invites them to a ball.

As if the mere idea of sharing a table again with the man whose beating heart Caleb has imagined clenched in his fist and froth with flames for years is not enough, they make their way to the southern side of The Candles only to be greeted by a party.

After a long moment where not a single one of his limbs can be willed to move, Caleb blinks and gasps around a mouthful of cold, bitter air.

Consider this a proper family reunion.

Behind him, the Nein are uncharacteristically silent, no doubt waiting for his lead, and Caleb grits his teeth against the impulse to do something.

He wants to look over his shoulder and laugh. To tell them that this is all an illusion, an elaborate farce. The Empire is many things, but a source of revelry is not one of them. It thrives under the death of innocence and knows nothing of merrymaking. It knows nothing of joy.

He wants to tear off the sleeves of his new coat and throw it at the feet of all these dancing fools. To expose his scars for all the planes to witness. Let them watch what this celebration is trying so hard to conceal — what their nation and the Assembly and Trent gottverdammt Ikithon will never allow to see the light of day.

He wants to go home.

To turn around, gather his family in his arms, and teleport back to Nicodranas. Or out of Wildemount. As far away from Rexxentrum as Caleb can take them using every drop of his magic. The walls between his past and present are beginning to crumble, and this should’ve been the last place for any of them to be. He is a dummkopf, a true and proper idiot, for dragging into this game everything he stands to lose.

Caleb’s jaw aches as he relinquishes his hold on a long and shaky breath.

Instead, he squares his shoulders and allows their group to be led by the waiting servants, all of whom are distant and polite. Who usher them up their master’s private chambers with a distinct air of purpose and efficiency. Who call Caleb Bren and treat him like they would someone they know. Like they would a returning heir.

.

The pain is inconsequential. It’s love that saves them.

As soon as their host leaves — summoned by the need to attend to more important guests — Caleb finds he can breathe a little easier again.

Not easy, no. Not in this tower. Or this city. But as he stares at the space his former teacher occupied a moment ago, Caleb’s shoulders stutter with a good imitation of relief. Easier.

Caduceus Clay’s parting words sounded significant, and while they barely pierced through the fog in Caleb’s mind, he knows they must’ve rang true by the way Master Ikithon’s eyes flickered. For the briefest of seconds, the man's dark gaze flashed with anger — true anger, the kind you feel for things you keep close to your chest — and Caleb almost gaped.

“Well that was fun.”

Beauregard’s voice cuts across the table like one of Veth’s arrows, and Caleb’s fingers curl into fists again.

Unsurprisingly, Astrid and Eadwulf are the first to stand. They appear unbothered by the ripple of murmurs and scattered conversation that erupt in the wake of Beau’s declaration, and even if Caleb wants to be rid of the sorrow that staring at his old friends still brings, it is the safer thing to do.

Blunt and fading grief is better than fresh guilt, which is what he will be facing if he turns to his left. The last thing he needs is a pair of worried, purple eyes that he's sure will be waiting for him at the other end of the table.

Caleb has accepted a long time ago that he’s always going to be a coward.

“Shall we?” asks Eadwulf, his hand already on the gilded knob of the ornate door.

His question is addressed to everyone, but the smirk on his lips is for Caleb. The curve of it is knowing, challenging, and, even after all these years, still always skirting the edge of playful.

They all move after that, none of them willing to spend a second longer in this tower than necessary. Though Caleb started feeling several pounds lighter right after Master Ikithon vanished in a single, spiteful pop, a frantic sense of urgency still lingers in his veins.

“Bren.”

But instead of leading the Nein outside the estate, Astrid and Eadwulf bring them back to the grand ballroom. Caleb blinks and suddenly finds himself in an endless sea of silk and golden light.

There’s a pale hand in front of him, terribly familiar, and he follows it right back to Astrid’s dangerously beautiful face.

Something in his stomach lurches. “What?”

“I want you to dance with me,” she tells Caleb in their shared tongue, the demanding tone in her words a perfect mask for the desperation only those who’s known her since childhood can ever truly recognize. “Surely you still know how.”

Sheer self-preservation urges Caleb to move and take her in his arms, into the memory of a position that, somehow, over a decade of blood and fire and madness has yet to completely erode.

He's not sure how long they stay like that, amidst well-dressed strangers and Zemnian whispers. The only thing Caleb knows is when Astrid’s hold on him grows more insistent, all but a handful of pairs have left the dance floor.

“You weren’t careful enough,” she whispers right against his ear. “Something slipped, and he took it. Like he always does.”

“Astrid—”

Her fingers tighten. “This is just the beginning, Bren. If you waver now, he’ll take it all.”

Something in her words makes Caleb’s gut turn to ice, and he jerks his head up.

He scans the crowd, eyes probably wild, and thankfully doesn’t take long to find what he’s looking for. They’re all still in the dance floor.

Veth is with Fjord and Caduceus, their three-way interpretation of the waltz seeming to reach a confusing end as the music starts to fade. Beau and Yasha are not far away, and while they are still locked in an almost-embrace that mirrors Caleb and Astrid, their forms are tense. Poised to strike.

Something is wrong.

It takes Caleb a single, terrible moment to realize that everything and everyone else has gone still.

Walking into the circle of the ballroom is Trent Ikithon, his coat pristine and his pace even. He stops at the center, just a little out of reach, before gesturing for the musicians to resume.

Caleb’s vision blurs as the entire room tilts to the left.

When he comes back, he knows there's no denying the unmistakable color and shape of the woman about to dance with his old master.

“Jester.”

read on ao3

[illiaccrest]

I just...think these two are neat...

Practicing using symmetry tools in clip studio to make patterns. Its really nice for making nouveau elements.

[belligerentbagel]

holiday party 🌹✨

[widobravely]

What point in their character arcs do you think Caleb and Jester need to get to in order to work as a couple? Or what do they need to overcome? Or are they ready?

I left this in my inbox for a bit to think about it, but really, when I saw the question I knew my answer already.

First of all: Widojest could not happen as long as Caleb hid the truth of his past from Jester. His murder of his parents is too big a thing to hide. So while I hoped and dreamed and wanted for like, eighty episodes, I knew it wasn't going to happen until he was honest.

AND THEN! LO AND BEHOLD. He was! He told the entire Nein! Admittedly he kept out the part about his memory being modified (likely because Caleb just loves to make things harder on himself believes that whether or not his parents were traitors, he STILL made the decision to kill them. And that is unforgivable), but still! He told Jester!

And of course Jester immediately reassures him, immediately hugs him. It's "Oh Jester, I am glad you see the good in me" all over again.

It's over. No more secrets. It's like taking off his bandages and showing them his scars all over again, but deeper this time. More honest. Now if we could just get someone to realize why Caleb is uncomfortable with his friends having residuum tattoos--

Now, as for Jester, well, she does not have such a dark backstory, but I think for me she needs to verbalize (preferably to her mother), first, that love is not like the smut books. It isn't all smoldering looks and hot buff men. And first love, as many of us know, is not always best love. (If someone here has married/dated their first love, chime in--I wanna know your story!)

Why verbalize, preferably to her mother? Because I believe Marion was integral to Jester believing in one love all these years. I mean, how romantic, staying single forever because the father of your child fucked off, right. It's a lovely story, a great narrative, but it makes for shit living, sometimes.

I want Jester to tell her mother: I thought I loved someone, but it turns out I don't. I'm sorry, Mama, I wanted a one true love like you had.

And then of course Marion says something very nice and wise and comforting. And you know, personally, I wouldn't much mind if Babenon and Marion caught up with each other and realized that they are indeed two different people from who they used to be, and they simply aren't in love anymore. (Marion more than Babenon, I think; Babenon doesn't seem to be pining, for me. But then, I doubt that them not getting back together is a story that's going to happen, Jester wants it too much. In the words of Matthew Mercer: You're Jester, I'll allow it.)

I do think that some level of Jester making it clear to the rest of the M9 that her interest in Fjord is done is necessary to Widojest. (Looking at you, Veth.) It would also signal to Caleb that oh dear, oh my, is there a chance she could actually grow to return his feelings? Watch Caleb panic and self-sabotage.

As for the actual getting together: I would like them to dance. I have a theory that Caleb isn't going to dance with Jester until Trent Ikithon's soul has passed through the Raven Queen's hands. Just a little theory. May write a fic about it, who knows.

[inigofication]

a second dance

I just wanna be alone with you

[whatkindofnameisella]

i think it was very sexy of dodie to release her alosia demos just so i can finally add please listen closely and in the bed and anything to my wj playlist. extremely sexy even.

[quantummindclassicalheart]

four-and-a-half waltzes of caleb widogast

A series of vignettes in which Caleb shares four dances with four of the most important people in his life, and learns to embrace the magic of possibility.

Words: 2,301.

intro.

Any good social dance teacher will tell you that partnered dancing is all about being open to possibilities. The dance lives in the space between practice and improvisation, on the precipice between the known and the unknown. At heart, it is something one creates together with their partner, something wild and new that has never existed before and will never exist in quite the same way again. In short, it is a kind of magic, and Caleb Widogast is no stranger to the magic of possibility.

i.

Caleb hadn’t expected them to run out of things to talk about so quickly. He and Nott have been on the road for a few days now since their jailbreak, and evening draws near once more. They’ve found a small clearing for the night. They don’t have much in the way of camp, but at least they can prepare a small fire, nibble on their rations, and set out the bed rolls somewhere more or less flat. It will have to do.

Nott is always keen to plan a new scheme or con, he’s noticed, but whenever he asks about her past, she clams up. And there are only so many scams Caleb can plan. He takes a bite of some jerky and chews it thoughtfully while the fire crackles amid the gathering twilight. The cool air fills his nose, and he looks across the flame to his goblin companion, who is munching on some mostly stale biscuits of her own.

"Nott, have you ever danced the waltz?" Caleb asks, breaking the silence.

Nott swallows and thinks for a moment, her ears twitching reflexively. "I don't think we have that dance where I'm from,” she ventures. “Goblins don’t have real culture like you do.”

“I am sure that is not true,” says Caleb gently. He stands up, straightens his coat, and shakes off a bit of the accumulated dirt. “Come. If your feet are not too sore from the road, I will teach you this dance, and in return you can teach me one of your goblin dances, and we’ll call it even.”

He beckons for her to join him, and while she looks a little skeptical at first, she does eventually walk over. As she places a green-skinned hand in his, Caleb begins to explain the counts with the utmost patience. “The waltz is a traditional Zemnian dance with six counts, you see. It goes eins-zwei-drei, eins-zwei-drei, over and over…”

Nott takes to it quicker than he expected, and Caleb hums a jaunty little melody as they circle the fire. “You’re an excellent teacher, Caleb,” she remarks. 

“Well, I have a talented student,” he says modestly, leading her into a turn.

While they are taking a break, Nott demonstrates a gesture where she raises both arms at an angle and ducks her head into the crook of her elbow. She claims this is a traditional goblin dance, and Caleb decides to humor her by mimicking the gesture himself. “Like this?” he asks, lanky arms upraised.

“Yes, exactly like that,” replies Nott, stifling a laugh, and Caleb pretends not to notice.

Dancing with Nott is a moment of light. They don’t know where they’re going yet or what lies ahead, but at least they can face it together, and that will make all the difference. Many months later, Caleb will dance with a restored Veth Brenatto. Her hands will feel different then, and her heart will not be so heavy, but when they dance, the muscle memory of the steps is still there, and they hold each other like old friends.

ii.

It’s a rowdy evening in Hupperdook. The music is lively, the mood high, and the Mighty Nein drunk as hell (for the most part, anyway). And one little blue tiefling, who is very much sober, has eyes on her scruffy wizard friend, who is very much not.

“Caleb, will you waltz with me?” says Jester, offering him her hand. Caleb blinks momentarily, tries to steady himself, and when he finally looks up into her bright violet eyes, he knows he cannot refuse.

“Okay,” he says. So she leads him out on the dance floor, and whether it’s the alcohol or simply the intoxicating presence of Miss Jester Lavorre, Caleb finds the rest of the world fading away until all that remains is her in his arms and the triple-time pulse of the music in his ears. He knows their friends are watching, probably, but in this moment he doesn’t care.

Dancing with Jester means embracing the chaos. With every step she reminds him that he dances for his partner, and she dances for him, and together they are something more than they ever were apart. Without words she tells him that the best is yet to come, that part of the fun is in the finding out.

Jester’s steps, while by no means clumsy, aren’t as polished as Astrid’s were, and Caleb is a bit out of practice (and more than a bit drunk), so they still trip over each other every so often and have to reset their positions, but it’s perfect in its own way. It’s so very easy to laugh with her when they stumble, to follow wherever she leads.

In another world he does not say the wrong name. In a different story he looks at her through the dizziness and the drunkenness and sees her clearly, just as she is, and loves her anyway, and maybe she even loves him back.

But in this story he stumbles with his words, and she knows at once that while he is looking at her he is dancing with a memory. She will still hold him as the music ends, and she will brush his messy auburn hair out of his eyes as he falls asleep in bed. And in the morning he will remember and he will regret, for if there’s one thing his keen mind is good at, it is remembering things.

iii.

In every waltz there is a lead and a follow, and inexperienced observers often assume that the follow part is somehow passive or easier. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a conversation between two partners, equally matched, and when Caleb directs Jester to get in touch with his old classmate, a conversation is precisely what he has in mind.

Astrid Beck is in her study at 31st Wodestone Manor when Jester’s Sending reaches her. When she receives the invitation to the dance hall, Astrid isn’t surprised. Of course Trent has told her and Eadwulf to be expecting their friend--his old protege--to reach out. (Actually informing Trent is another matter entirely, and one she hasn’t yet made up her mind about.) And Bren has chosen familiar ground, public enough to avoid any funny business yet private enough for a chat. 

It is a logical choice. Practical. Obvious, even. But when Bren actually asks her to dance, her heart still skips a beat. 

Astrid has outgrown her childhood fairy tales, though she still carries those stories with her. She knows real curses now, and she knows they take more to break than a true love’s kiss. But in spite of herself, she entertains the notion (if only for a moment) that maybe if she does this right, Bren will remember himself, recall all that they shared. Maybe he will even stay. So she dances.

When they dance together, it is a negotiation, a spirited debate between old friends. She is familiar to him, she has had years more to practice, and yet he still surprises her. The old Bren was always carefully rehearsed, mapping out developments and schema in his mind, planning ten steps ahead. But this new Bren-- Caleb-- is more dynamic, improvisational.

For all her experience, Astrid finds herself working to keep up. Sometimes she still catches glimpses of the old Bren-- there is his favorite footwork variation, there is the turn he drilled for a month in order to impress Wulf-- but there is something new in the way he moves as well. She can see that he has been busy, that in some ways he has even outgrown her, and it both excites and scares her in equal measure.

She takes the lead, initiates a sequence they both know by heart, and by the third measure he’s added a beat and switched the hands. By the fifth they are in free spins, mirror images turning in perfect synchronicity. By the sixth he has caught her in his arms, and by the eighth he has returned her the lead.

Astrid knew Bren. But she is beginning to realize that she doesn’t know Caleb at all, and there is a part of her that still wants to fix that, that aches to know the man her Bren has become. Yet another part of her worries that she’ll never get the chance.

iv.

Far from Rexxentrum, there is a perfect copy of the old dance hall that lives within Caleb’s memory, and also within his magical tower. Unlike the real dance hall, this version has only one patron at the moment, namely the Shadowhand Essek Thelyss. He has set his ornate mantle aside, but his dark indigo robes elegantly cloak much of his body and his legs as he paces back and forth, floating above the wooden floor. 

Essek’s hands trace the well-practiced hand shapes of cantrips almost reflexively as he waits for Caleb to arrive. They have fought zombie giants and arcane experiments and extraplanar demi-gods together, and yet this-- this is a kind of vulnerability he is not used to, and his heart still races.

As he hears the door creak open, he quickly straightens his robes one last time and clasps his hands behind his back. “Caleb. I’m glad you could join me,” he says, and just like that he is back to being the cool and composed Shadowhand.

"Of course,” says Caleb, who Essek notices is clad in similar robes but in shades of purple and brown. “Forgive me, but I was a little surprised by your request. Is dancing usually under the purview of the Shadowhand's duties?"

Essek chuckles. "I can't spend all my time in the lab, can I? My mother required her sons to have some formal training in it, anyway. Verin was always the one all the girls and boys wanted to dance with, but I found ways to practice." He flourishes his robes melodramatically.

"Well, for the moment we have a bit of time and space to ourselves, and I know those are two of your primary interests," quips Caleb.

At this, Essek cracks a smile. "Indeed. It would be a shame if we didn't make the most of it. I don’t suppose you have some, ah, musical accompaniment prepared?"

“As a matter of fact...” Caleb snaps his fingers, and Essek watches a small band of five spectral cats assemble, instruments in tow. One carries a violin, while another totes some sort of brass instrument. Essek stares, blinks momentarily, and decides not to think too hard about it.

Before long, the band strikes up a lilting tune. “Herr Thelyss, may I have this dance?” says Caleb, bowing and offering his hand as he does.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Essek drifts down, his shoes touching ground with the faintest click, and he takes Caleb’s hand, rough against his own.

When Essek dances, it is magic in every sense of the word. Essek knows geodesics, he understands the arcs of bodies through spacetime as their momentum carries them onward. He knows how to pull at the strings of gravity to make each turn feel effortless and each step inevitable.

And he is well-trained. For now, Caleb is leading, and Essek flows along with him, matching him step for step. It reminds Essek of a time not too long ago when the two of them were collaborating on spellcraft, back in his Rosohna towers. For hours they had gone back and forth with questions and ideas and conjectures, charting new paths into the infinite mysteries of the arcane. It feels like that now, like they are crafting some new transmutation theorem with a particularly elaborate somatic component. Like they are making something beautiful again.

They orbit like twin satellites caught in each other’s gravity, and amidst the music and the movement Essek wonders what he did to deserve all this. To deserve a second chance, to deserve these friends, to deserve-- him. Essek nearly misses a step while he is lost in thought, but his levitation magic instinctively kicks in so that he merely glides instead of falling, and Caleb is there to catch him, steady and unperturbed.

Essek opens his mouth to apologize, but instead, he simply says, “Thank you.”

Caleb nods. “Of course,” he says, and as Essek looks into his eyes, he doesn’t have to wonder anymore. There will be plenty of time for guilt and self-loathing and atonement later. For now, there is someone who loves him, and there are waltzes to be had. And that is enough.

coda.

What they don’t tell you about partnered dancing is how it changes you. With any dance there is always the possibility of miscommunication, of missteps, of getting hurt along the way. But within that vulnerability, there also lies the potential for transformation. It takes openness, flexibility, creativity, trust, all of these virtues that Caleb has learned from his friends and taught them in turn.

Dances aren’t meant to last forever. Sooner or later, the music ends and the dancers part ways. But it’s never been about the ending, really. It’s always been about the transformations and transfigurations along the way, and the ones you share them with. And when it comes to acts of transmutation, Caleb Widogast is something of an expert.

[kissingagrumpygiant]

I'm gonna throw it out there that I think jester has had feelings for caleb for a while now. Starting around ep 91. I'm just gonna throw it out there. Just sprinkle it in your food for thoughts. Just saying