Dear CR smut writers,

Please never stop creatively coming up with unholy usages of Mage Hand, Hold Person, Unseen Servant, & Immovable Object.

Sincerely,

Anyone who ships the wizards.

source

:(((...

I think it's a good time to post this, my friend put it on Twitter and it sorta got popular (they no longer have that Twitter) so we'll see how it goes! Come get y'all food ((pretend I didn't spell Caleb's name wrong oh my god))

Fjorester: still desperately in love (with duplicates)

Beauyasha: parents???? Yes please.

Shadowgast: KISSES AND MY DEARS

My shipping cycle when I get into a fandom is starting out shipping the popular ship everyone likes and then inevitably gravitating to the rare pair that has 50 fics at MOST on AO3 and barely any art out there (if there IS any to begin with lmao)

the fact that jester, essek, and astrid are the three CR2 characters who make me feel the most batshit insane is so so so fucking funny. like damn that is a CORRELATION

There is something about Essek and Molly and Caleb all supporting each other and dealing with their respective trauma that really resonates with me.

I don't really believe in monogamy, but I do believe in love. Life is so overflowing with horrible shit we can't change, that to limit ourselves when it comes to the the only good thing that has ever happened to humanity (aka: human connection) just seems stupid to me.

Some people find their greatest joy in choosing their one and only person. My Gf and I find that joy in letting people into our hearts. In sharing the bitter sweet ups and downs of love and loss and mutual healing. To see that mirrored by my favorite fucking characters. God damned. It's so cathartic.

I'm gonna gonna go cry in bed about my ginger catboy and his two purple boyfriends now. This is a gentle reminder to allow yourself to connect and be vulnerable. Because life is nothing if we refuse to live.

also to the person in the tags who said every single on of liam's characters' ships with a man are overrated you are soooooo right for that and sooooo brave

3 Shadowgast fics that made me ugly cry

Okay so I read a LOT of shadowgast fanfics and I wanted to share some of the ones that made me absolutely weep. (I was going to wait until tomorrow but I got too excited to share).

All of these have some intense emotional distress, but I promise you all they may be angsty but they absolutely have happy endings.

They are all set in very different AU's, are hefty completed fics, and have similar feels!

1. the breathe before the phrase

(171513 words) by @kmackatie Chapters: 20/20 Rating: Explicit Summary: The ringing note of a concert A is played by the oboe, echoing on its own in the space. It’s picked up by the wind section, followed rapidly by the brass, and the familiar feeling of an orchestra calibrating takes over Caleb. The tonal adjustments as each person brings their instrument into alignment sinks into him and something inside Caleb shifts in recognition as Essek leads the strings into their own tuning. It’s like something is waking up, like something unfurling and firing across long-unused paths of memory. His hands shake slightly, as he raises his bow and joins them, fingers fumbling against the pegs and fine tuners that give him control over his instrument. ---- Essek Thelyss is a leading violinist, his spot as Shadowhand of the Rosohna Philharmonic Orchestra has been uncontested for over a decade. Caleb Widogast is a recent arrival to the city, convinced by his friends to audition for one of the vacant violinist positions. After starting off on the wrong foot, Caleb and Essek get to slowly know each other, discover what brings them joy, create while defying expectations, and find out that what they can produce together may just be better than anything they can do separately.

Why I cried: The amount of pressure put on Essek made my heart absolutely shatter. That plus the pinning between Caleb and Essek had me weeping. The hurt/comfort energy. The bad parent Dierta and of course past Caleb Ickythong trauma healing. Other than the story itself Katie has put so much energy into explaining the music, the playlist is stunning, and the inspiration for the played pieces in the fic are grounded in actual compositions. No spoilers, but the ending is gorgeous <3

2.Till Human Voices Wake us

(66080 words) by @ariadne-mouse Chapters: 23/23 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Additional Tags: Merman!Caleb, no Mighty Nein but otherwise canon setting/events, Neutral evil Essek, Essek-typical anxiety and fatalism, Loneliness, Hurt/Comfort, spooky gothic vibes, some horror and disturbing imagery, the ocean as a threat/love language, Illustrations, drowning themes Summary: Essek Thelyss, lonely and ambitious prodigy, comes to Nicodranas to make a risky gamble with the Assembly. At the water’s edge, he finds himself swept up in another dangerous entanglement he can't seem to escape — and as time goes on, he's less and less sure he wants to. Will his treasonous alliance or the sea itself devour him first? (Or, the one where Caleb is a merman.)

Why I cried: okay so look, this story was so fucking sad I can't even begin to describe it. The love and longing between the two, the tragic backstory for Caleb. Treason = death for Essek (it's a happy ending though so do not worry, but I definitely worried so you don't have to LOL). It also has some stunning art in it!!!

3. what luminous worlds await

what luminous worlds await (178674 words) by @essektheylyss Rating: Mature Additional Tags: Champion of the Luxon AU, Alternate Universe - Future, Space Opera, Religious Conflict, religious trauma, Violence, Minor Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Dreams vs. Reality, Demisexual Essek Thelyss, Past Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Angst, Fictional Religion & Theology, Implied/Referenced Sex, Mention of Using Sex as Self-Harm, several immortals grapple with loss while trying to save the world, so so many liberties taken with consecution, this wouldn't be a problem if you'd EXPLAIN matthew mercer, and/or if a certain drow would give literally any straight answers, (I mean he can't give straight answers when he's not straight), Background Fjorester (Past), Post-Canon, …very post-canon Summary: “You seek my nature. It is a lonely endeavor. Would you like to join me on this path?” “Yes.” — After a thousand years, a divine champion awakes in a lightless cave above Port Damali with little memory to speak of and a beacon in his hands. Even as he struggles to piece the past together and process what he has lost while he slept, the future demands he answer for the crimes of his elders. It offers little in return, but perhaps there are fragments of possibility awaiting him.

Why I cried: Omg oh boy, this one made me BIG cry- honestly one of my favourite fics I have read so far. A true space opera, a story of love, in many forms, over time, space, and multiple lives. I sobbed from chapter one literally until the end. Though I think you will need an A03 account to read this one, but it is worth the wait to set one up. My partner watched me cry so much while I read this. I totally did download and save this fic to send to pals so they can cry with me. It is worth the agony for this happy ending. I might still be crying LOL

help I may have started reading dragon age fic

Been meaning to post this for forever, but my brain is hot jello salad served in a pasta strainer so I keep forgetting.

I give this song to all Caleb Widogast fans, whether you support Widomauk, Shadowgast, Widojest, the Blumentrio, or just really like the dynamic he has with members of the Mighty Nein. Guaranteed some people have this song on their playlists for him, but in case you didn’t, here you go.

whenever shippers compare shadowgast and beauyasha I usually see it with Essek and Yasha being paralleled, and I do love the gardening buddies and Yasha telling Essek not to wait too long for love, but Essek and Beau vs Yasha and Caleb is much more compelling to me.

Beau and Essek are both young, rebellious and resentful prodigies from wealthy backgrounds with bad relationships with their parents. They’re both naturally suspicious loners. Both of them experience friendship and family for the first time with the Nein. I think it’s meaningful when Beau says “fuck, I like him,” after Essek opens up at dinner in the Xhorhouse; I think she relates to him a bit.

Caleb and Yasha have both been manipulated and mind controlled; have both done things they consider unforgivable. They have both experienced, and then lost, family and romantic love. They both lost time and memories, and eventually were found and saved by an unexpected friendship. Both their stories involve learning to live and love again, to find second chances.

As a shadowgast shipper I often think about That matt mercer and liam o'brien thumbnail. Not once did I consider that it was basically this image